Soldier 'til the End
by M.T Linshaw
Summary: A friendship/angst/suspense/mystery fic with some mild swearage along the way. (I say 'mild', it's actually quite severe). Slightly funny if you squint. Hilarious if you close your eyes. Friendships are tentatively formed after an attack along Privet Drive. And unexpected decisions must be made in the aftermath.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own any character in the Harry Potter series. I don't own Hogsmeade, I don't own Bertie Botts, I don't own Aragog, I don't even have a wand. I'm just a student procrastinating writing her essays. It's all owned by J K Rowling, I swear!11!

Basically, something bad happens somewhere. It's quite bad. - I wanted to put that as my summary but then I thought, no! It needs to be at least _a little_ bit writey. So that's the reason we have the ridiculous summary. This is my first published fic and I'm rather excitedly nervously anxious about it so please - sit down, get comfy and enjoy. The next part will most likely be up tomorrow when my flatmates think I'm doing work.

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**Prologue**

In the jolly old country of England, there are many streets and roads which to the unacquainted eye appear to be alike in every way imaginable. And in all honesty, these unacquainted eyes are not far from wrong in the conclusions they draw. For these streets _are_ in fact remarkably similar at first glance. They are normally home to a score or so of neat and tidy detached houses, with freshly mowed grass proceeding them and a little white fence surrounding _that_. Sometimes you might find a tiny little Yorkshire terrier with a tiny little pink bow in their neatly trimmed hair, running around with their puffy tails wagging merrily. There might even be a cat; a little black cat, with a sparkling silver collar with a bell on, prowling around or snoozing beneath the shade of a neatly parked car. Yes, they're very similar neighbourhoods indeed. Exteriorly.

However, what one cannot possibly know from first glance alone, unless they're telepathic of course, is how greatly the owners of each of these pristinely pruned dwellings differ from one another. Now, I'm not one to gossip, but Mr and Mrs Pritchard of number 17 Thornbush Lane won the lottery once. The whole jackpot, and it was rumoured to be a rather large amount. But they never spent even a penny of it. _Not even a penny._ They cashed in the check and withdrew the money back out straight away and kept it in a little blue velvet box underneath their bed and Mrs Pritchard checked on it every morning when she awoke and every night before she went to sleep. And Mr Turner of 25 Leckonfield Close killed a man with an axe, in an act of pure spontaneous insanity. No one but he knew that he had done so, but he had done it all the same. And Mr and Mrs Dursley of number 4 Privet Drive reluctantly held guardianship over their nephew, whose parents were killed when he was merely an infant in his cot. And they detested him. Everything about him; the way he looked, the way he sassed them, the way he didn't do his chores on time. But mostly they hated the fact that he was a wizard. And it is outside of this house that I shall begin my story.

For in the very early hours of a sticky summer's day in the July of 1995, two men stood outside of this Dursley dwelling. Seen by no one thanks to two helpful disillusionment charms, they had remained standing outside of Number 4 Privet Drive throughout the night. They did not move their glances from this house, they simply watched it all night long. They did not speak to each other, not even one word.

Though do not hasten to misunderstand me. They were perfectly aware of each other's presence, oh yes for they both belonged to the Magical Resistance group "The Order of the Phoenix", led by one Albus Dumbledore. But who the other person actually _was_, was a complete enigma to both of them. It was probably possible to decipher the identity of the other person by process of elimination, of course. If one knew _how_. And that was what one of these men was currently trying to do, in an attempt to eliminate his boredom.

This man's name was Severus Snape, a tall thin man of 35 with shoulder length black hair hanging limply from his head. He was… rather contemptuous, to say the least, and he was not adored by many. He stood stock still in front of the house, with his feet slightly apart and his hands clasped behind his back. His feet ached slightly, not that he would show it, for even in the shadow of his disillusionment charm he would not appear weak. It was simply not his way.

However, while not taking his eyes from the house, the man moved for perhaps the first time in 3 hours. He slowly reached into the pocket of his thick black robe and retrieved a small blue packet of cigarettes. He removed one, put it into his mouth and returned the packet to his pocket. His wand slipped down from the sleeve of his robe and into his hand and he lit the cigarette noiselessly and replaced his wand in his sleeve. It was not an addiction, he would tell himself. It was simply… dedication. His father's mother had given them to him, from time to time when he was younger, and he had gladly accepted. He had enjoyed the feeling with which each cigarette presented him: a feeling of serenity; a feeling of peace; a feeling of solitude. He did _not_ however, enjoy the fact that they stained his teeth an ugly shade of yellow, but then one must make certain sacrifices to gain the things they needed. No! The things they _wanted_. He _wanted_ to feel calm – his teeth would have to be discoloured and _he_ would have to live with that. As he continued to smoke his cigarette, his thoughts turned back to the other person watching over Harry Potter's house.

He knew for certain that it was not Black. He was not permitted to leave his house, even on a leash, for fear that he might be intercepted by authorities and/or do something reckless. Both of which, Severus felt were really rather likely. He considered that it wasn't Dumbledore either – for he would have undoubtedly heard the click-click sound of knitting needles by this point. So that had narrowed it down by two. He doubted very much that the other person was Molly Weasley. She had her ginger litter to care for and he knew she wasn't the type to leave them to their own devices. She enjoyed a good fuss, that woman – he found it difficult to understand how her husband, whose name he had forgotten, could find the patience to cope with her.

He couldn't imagine the other person being her husband either. What was it? Alan? Argus? Geoff? He could not remember. But he _did _remember that whatever his name was, he worked at the Ministry and therefore could not afford to be spending his nights watching over the house of the Boy Who Lived when he needed to be up for work the next morning. Unfortunately for Severus, when Potter was not in school, neither was he. And there was no viable excuse he could forge to avoid this lacklustre duty. And so here he was.

Sometimes Severus wished that he worked at the Ministry. Maybe if he hadn't been so much of a massive shit when he was a teenager and joined the forces of the Dark Lord when he had turned 18 he might have made something of himself and got a job there. He could have been the bloody Minister for all he knew. Not that he thought he would have particularly liked being the Minister of Magic any more than he particularly liked teaching snot nosed children. He imagined it was quite stressful. It wasn't that he liked Fudge, as much as he loathed him and his multitude of inadequacies, but he could understand that there was most likely quite a lot hanging from his shoulders. What with the inevitable rise of the Dark Lord and, well that was enough for anyone, really. Hell, it was why his smoking had increased. Not that he needed to smoke, of course. He could have thrown the whole packet away right there and then if he had wanted. But he digressed. It was, he contemplated, a highly stressful situation for a man who probably couldn't even name the 12 uses for Dragon's Blood. No wonder he had so vehemently denied it.

His thoughts were interrupted by the unmistakable sound of apparition nearby. His wand once again slipped from the sleeve of his robe and into his hand and he looked around, slightly bewildered. He could not see anything or anyone in the vicinity. Perhaps he had imagined it. He _was_ rather sleep deprived after all. How long had it been now? Forty hours? There abouts, most likely. Maybe the other Order Member had disapparated. If this was the case then the other Order member could only have been Fletcher. He was a cowardly bastard at the _best_ of times. It would be no one else but him. But as he had previously thought, the noise had most likely been his mind playing tricks on him. He'd go to bed when he was finished here. And he'd be finished in three hours, anyway. He'd be fine. For the next couple of minutes or so he continued, distractedly to watch the house, when an invisible voice, shrouded by darkness whispered "Severus Snape?" Surely he hadn't imagined _that?_ He hesitated for a moment, looking around him for the source of the whisper and unsurprisingly seeing nothing.

"Show yourself" He whispered back, before his brain could consent. He internally berated himself for his foolish lack of aforethought. _Oh bravo, Severus – let them know you're here. Brilliant. If you die, I'll laugh._

Suddenly an invisible force hit right into Severus' abdomen, causing him to double over and drop his wand to the floor in surprise. Had someone punched him? Why would someone punch him? He straightened up slowly and reached up with his left hand to support himself on the erected turret of a nearby garden wall while his right hand swam blindly through the air of the night trying to locate his attacker. He might not have been the strongest man in the world but he knew that he could hit just as well as anyone - even when it was a cowardly, invisible victim. Finally his hand found what felt like a shoulder and Severus reached the same hand back, making a fist with it when a white hot pain erupted in his gut; a sickening, relentlessly twisting pain that made his body tense up and his hand cling on to the turret so tightly he thought he might crush the bricks between his fingers.

The horrible twisting pain quickly stopped and was replaced by the feeling of something being ripped out of his stomach. A low, gruff chuckle was given by his attacker before Severus heard a crack of disapparation. He couldn't quite work out what had just happened. He turned his head and looked back at the Dursley dwelling. The house was still in darkness; the doors and windows showed no signs of use. It was strange, he thought, how the Death Eater, it _had_ to have been a Death Eater, had attacked him but had failed to force possession over Harry Potter.

If _he_ had still been a true alleged follower of the Dark Lord he would have sauntered in, bold as brass in his entire Death Eater garb, removed the disillusionment charm hiding the traitor and bound him down somehow – a stunning spell would have been the best option as the simplest ones often were. He would have then got Potter's attention – perhaps used _sonorous,_ and declared to him the traitor's true allegiance. From there it would have played right into his hands: Potter would have come running out onto the street in a clumsy display of his arrogant hero-complex, and as soon as he stepped past the blood wards he, the Dark Lord's most faithful servant, would have killed the traitor with a quick and tidy _Avada Kedavra._ Potter would have been his for the taking and he would have been rewarded plentifully by his master.

Of course, there was the fact that another member of the Order of the Phoenix was standing merely a few metres away and they, if they weren't Mundungus Fletcher, would have been the best back-up that a dead traitor could hope for in saving The Boy Who Lived, but he wouldn't have known that – the dead traitor would have neglected to tell him about that second Order Member. Naturally.

He grimaced inconceivably as the pain in his abdomen flared up. He still couldn't work out what had happened. Someone had punched him in the gut and left, which was weird in itself, really - a bit short lived. But what had been truly strange about the attack was the twisting and ripping he had felt inside of his stomach. Severus reached one of his hands down and tentatively placed his palm onto his abdomen. There was a rip in his robes – a large one, and surrounding that, the robes were soaking wet. His eyes widened and he held his hand up to his face, studying it, to find it stained with bright red. _Fuck_. He'd been stabbed. That wasn't good. Where was his wand? He should conjure a patronus – tell someone what had happened. No, that idea was moronic. What would the Muggle inhabitants of this street say if they saw a bright silver doe wandering down the street at three in the morning? Good God he would not die on a shitty Muggle suburban street. He would not die in front of Harry Potter's house.

He had to leave – that much was obvious. He truly did not want to have to put up with the Order's complaining and Molly Weasley's incessant weeping because the idiot boy had decided to abscond the safety of his relatives and he hadn't been there to get the little brat back into his throne room, but what could he do? He needed his wand. He couldn't do much without that. He was proficient enough at wandless magic, but having his wand at hand made him complete. It helped him to think. He stood as straight as his body would allow and opened his palm at his side. It would take some energy, he knew, but it was necessary. He closed his eyes and focused on the words "accio wand" inside of his mind.

In a matter of seconds, his fingers clasped around the soft cool wood of his wand and he felt himself droop with both relief and wear. He had correctly prophesized. The performance of a silent and wandless spell had tired him greatly. And it had not been helped at all by his dwindling health. As if on cue, the wound on his abdomen flared up again with a piercing, burning, white-hot pain that seemed to envelope his entire being. He was forced to let go of the turret in favour of clutching at his abdomen. He was slumping now, he realised. If someone had been able to see him they'd have believed he were a decrepit, the way he was slumping, he thought. He once again tried to evaluate his options of action. He was starting to panic slightly now. He could feel blood running out of the hole in his robe and through his fingers. He closed them in an attempt to stem the blood flow and breathed slowly through the agonising pain.

He needed to alert someone of his predicament. That was the first priority. The other Order member on watch duty was the most obvious candidate for this. Dumbledore had given them a word which they could utter – in emergencies only of course, to alert the other Order member that they were in need of help. That word was "bubble-gum". Oh how he loathed Dumbledore and his grotesquely annoying obsession with Muggle sweets. The other members of the Order of the Phoenix hadn't understood what bubble-gum was, when they'd learned of the Emergency Word and Severus had not explained, either. He'd chewed it as a boy. His father's mother would give it to him from time to time and he had gladly accepted it. He'd quite enjoyed it. No longer though. He did not have the time nor the patience for such idiocies now.

"Bubble-gum" he said as strongly as he could manage. His voice was strained he noticed with a slight ire, and the other Order member probably wouldn't have even recognised it as belonging to him. That didn't matter though, they just needed to understand the intent. There was a pause, and Severus found himself nervous with anticipation as he waited for a reaction. He shivered against the cold that was suddenly trying to intimidate him. It was brisk and cutting, and his hand felt frozen against the warm throb of his blood. He could feel his head beginning to get lighter and the houses swarmed and swam before his very eyes.

"Reveal yourself" came his reply. Before any particular thought had entered his mind, Severus had heaved up his wand-holding arm and removed the disillusionment charm which had previously hidden him. Now, fully visible he allowed his arm to drop down by his side luckily not dropping the wand again and felt himself sway as the wind pushed him backwards and forwards. Every limb was growing heavier; he could hardly even hold himself upright and his shivering had seemed to increase tenfold. _When had it become so cold?_ The hand which had been, up to now, so adequately keeping the blood from spilling out of him like a tap seemed to slip away from his abdomen. The world moved in slow motion, and his eyes stared blindly into the night and his legs struggled to hold him no longer and he sank down gracelessly onto his knees. A man was running up to him, calling his name and Severus looked on as he slid to his knees in front of him on the pavement, panic lining his weary face, and took off his cloak, bundling it up and pressing it against Severus' stomach while keeping one hand on his shoulder, keeping him steady. Severus could feel his eyes threatening to close and he worried that the man would not understand what had happened to him.

"I think I've been stabbed." He said, hoping beyond hope that the words had been said aloud and not just inside of his own head. He closed his eyes briefly and held his breath against the excruciating pain emanating in his gut. He could hear words coming from the man's mouth – "Don't worry Severus, it's okay. Just stay with me," Being repeated over and over and over again like a chant, and he tried to concentrate on it, but failing that tried to identify the man in front of him. His head was turned away from him but his hair was brown – light brown and his clothes were patched in places. He turned his head back to Severus and regarded him with golden eyes full of concern. There was a moustache sitting above his lips and he continued to utter those words to him. He was certain that he recognised the man in front of him, but the fog in his mind would not allow him to identify him.

He opened his mouth to say something else, _anything_ else, but all that passed his lips was a thick bubble of blood which dribbled down his chin and onto his robes. The man moved his arm around Severus' back, in order to hold him more securely. He kept repeatedly looking back at the house but all the while continued to talk to him, "it's alright, Severus it's alright," and it was soothing and calming. Severus was relaxed, really relaxed and he closed his eyes. He felt like he was falling. Sinking further and further into oblivion until the man and the house and the attack seemed like they were all a world away. He could feel a hand gently patting his cheek and the voice of the man calling his name. Unconsciousness was beckoning him, but not before Severus could remember with a start, who the other man was.


	2. Chapter 1: Don't Worry, Severus

Oh look it's the next part! 'Already?' I hear you ask in shock and gladdened surprise. 'Of course!' I reply with a smug smile.

Disclaimer.

Me: Knock knock.

You: Who's there?

Me: Not J.K Rowling, that's who.

You: Not J.K Rowling, that's who, who?

Me: ...

But yeah in all seriousness, I don't own any of this.

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The other man on the street was Remus Lupin. His watch would be ending in three hours' time and in his opinion it wouldn't come a moment too soon. His bed was beckoning him and he longed to spend a day or three lying in its comfort. The full moon had come and gone and not without forgetting about him, as he so often hoped it would. No, it had come and laughed at his expense and he had been transformed into a monster so hideous he could hardly even bear to think about it. His "furry little problem", James had called it when they were still in school - "little" being the operative word; "problem", being the second operative word. "Gargantuan furry crisis" would have, in Remus' opinion, been much more accurate in describing his transformation. Of course, _that _would have sounded quite bizarre in public. But, naturally they had needed _some_ sort of code-phrase to describe his monthly goings on, and "furry little problem" was much better than "lycanthropy" – how perturbed that would have caused people to be.

He knew he was an outcast. He could hardly hold down a job for more than a few months. Employers weren't especially agreeable when it came to having three days a month off sick, it _inconvenienced_ them. And when they discovered the true reasoning for his absence – well that was it for Remus. To have a werewolf on the payroll was bad for business. He didn't mind so much though, not as much as people would expect him to. Minds would change. People would learn to understand. Obviously not in the next few years and perhaps not even in his lifetime but in the future, lycanthropes would no longer be observed and treated as the second class citizens that they were today. He was sure of that.

Remus' thoughts were turned back to the matter at hand. Keeping watch over the Dursley-Potter household. It was fairly nice, he considered - neat and tidy and a place to call home. He understood from what Harry had told him that the Dursley family had not treated Harry as amiably as one would expect them to treat their nephew. They weren't too fond of the wizard thing, apparently. And so he'd told Harry that if ever he needed to talk, especially after Cedric Diggory's death then he must write to him or Sirius, at once. They would support him. They would be the family he needed and deserved.

Abruptly, Remus' ponderings were interrupted by a hoarse uttering of the word "bubble-gum". He looked around in the dark, trying to pin point where it had come from. It was the emergency word of the Order of the Phoenix, for when they were on watch duty. Dumbledore had clarified as clearly as he could that it was not to be used unless in a dire situation – a life or death situation. And so that could only mean one thing – the other order member was worried that they were about to die.

"Reveal yourself" he said, hoping beyond hope that they had their wand. And enough strength, perhaps. He waited a second or two, searching desperately for the utterer of the emergency word, when out of nowhere Severus Snape appeared on the pavement, not many metres away. He was standing in the least Snape-like manner that one could imagine: slouching and swaying with his wand held loosely at his side. He held his left hand to his stomach. Remus took a few steps towards him, reaching for his wand and holding it out readily in front of him. He wouldn't take any chances. Something had harmed Severus enough to make the normally calm man believe it was an emergency and clutch at his stomach like his life depended on it. It wasn't good. He hesitantly turned his wand toward himself and removed his own disillusionment charm allowing himself to be seen.

Suddenly the swaying man not far in front of him fell hard to his knees and Remus broke into a run, calling Severus' name as he went. _What in seven shits had happened?_ As he got closer he could see smell it. The blood. It filled the sticky night air and Remus did his very best to not cringe at its potency. He pulled his cloak from his shoulders and slid to his knees right in front of Severus, hastily pressing it to his stomach and holding his shoulder as he did so, to keep them both calm. It was clear to see that Severus was fighting to stay awake; his eyes drooping shut every so often and his body swaying dangerously this way and that.

"I think I've been stabbed." he said in a slur that would contest that of any drunkard and Remus' heart sank. Stabbed? That wasn't good. Who had done that? A Death Eater? How had he not seen them? Did they too wear a disillusionment charm? _Or _an invisibility cloak. And how had they seen Severus? Remus chastised himself. Now was not the time to be pondering over those things. Those answers would be discovered later.

"Don't worry, Severus" he said to him, "It's ok. Just stay with me." He repeated it over and over again. It was good to keep talking in situations like this, he'd heard. He turned back to Harry's house, continuing to chant the words into the night, mainly to himself – Severus didn't seem too aware of his presence. Remus wouldn't have been surprised if he hadn't even recognised him. Harry's house was still in darkness, there were no signs of any disturbance. So it wasn't an attack on Harry. Just on Severus. Perhaps his cover had been blown.

He turned back to the man in question and stared into his glassy black eyes for a few moments wondering what on earth they should do. Severus needed medical treatment that much was obvious. But surely St. Mungo's would be the last place that he should take him. It wasn't safe enough for a man whose cover as a double agent had potentially just been blown. Remus paused in his wondering as the man in front of him opened his mouth as if to say something, but only blood was able to leave his lips. He was swaying dangerously now from side to side and forward and backward and his shoulder was shaking violently under his hand. Remus quickly moved it from Severus' shoulder to around his back. The man was shivering, _really_ shivering. It was the middle of summer, and a hot one at that and the man was acting as if he were in Siberia. Things most certainly were not alright.

"It's alright, Severus you'll be alright," he said. They needed help, quickly. They'd have to go to Grimmauld Place, Sirius was there – he'd know what to do. Remus was sure he wouldn't like Severus being there any more than Severus would _want_ to be there, but surely it was their only option. Suddenly Remus felt Severus fall forward into his arms. He tried jostling him about and patting his chin gently and repeating his name, trying to keep him awake but to no avail. He finally gave up, turned one last time to look at Harry's house (all still seemed to be okay) before hugging Severus tightly and apparating them both to a dewy green verge a hundred miles away.

The apparition appeared to have returned Severus from his brief unconsciousness and he looked around bewildered. The cloak had fallen away from them upon landing and Remus wordlessly leant and picked it up and pressed it back against Severus' stomach. He tried to ignore the distinctive wetness of it as he looked around and grabbed his bearings. He'd miscalculated his apparition slightly and they were a further from number 12 Grimmauld Place than he'd intended. Of course for any normal healthy person this wouldn't be any sort of problem, but as he looked down at the shivering and sweating man on the floor next to him he knew this wouldn't be the case.

"Severus, can you walk?" He asked, immediately thereafter praying that Severus would be in no fit state to gift him with a snarky quip about asking stupid questions. His prayers were answered, though and Severus furrowed his eyebrows in consideration before slowly moving to stand. He was stumbling and swaying and being about as intimidating as a doe in the headlights, or whatever the Muggle expression was, and Remus hastily got to his feet and motioned to grab Severus under his arms, just as his legs buckled beneath him. Remus, not expecting the sudden weight collapsed on top of Severus, but rolled quickly away, so as to avoid any further agitation to Severus' injuries. He put his head in his hands and tried not to cry out in frustration.

The whole situation was fruitless. He hadn't enough strength to apparate them both again, and partly for the same reason he couldn't levitate Severus alongside him – plus, he doubted even in his current weak state, that Severus would be entirely happy in allowing him to do so, and should a Muggle glance out of their bedroom window and onto the street, whatever would they think if they saw a man flying towards an invisible house? They could only walk. It wasn't far – only fifty yards or so. If they helped each other, they'd do it soon enough. He looked back down at Severus, who was laying on his back, sprawled on the grass. His eyes were closed and his breaths: hitched. Remus fell to his knees next to the man and shook him on the shoulder none too gently and again replaced the fallen cloak back to Severus' blood soaked robes. Severus opened his eyes and looked at him blearily.

"I know you're in pain, Severus and we'll get you help soon. We just need to walk a bit, and we'll get there." Severus nodded slowly, and tried to raise himself onto his elbows, hissing and grunting in pain. He closed his eyes briefly and tried to steady his breathing. He opened them again and stared up at Remus.

"Lupin, please." He said, his voice strained, "Would you help me?" Confused, Remus wasn't sure whether Severus, in his state of blood loss was having delusions that Remus wouldn't help him at all and had thus felt the need to plead with him like that or whether he simply meant helping him to stand up. Either way Remus nodded shakily and helped to pull Severus up whilst through some skill, continued to hold the bloody cloak to his stomach.

"I'll be expecting a new robe from you Snape" he said deadpan. "This one was in very good condition before you came along." Severus ignored him and held onto Remus' shoulder like he was hanging on for dear life as they slowly commenced their journey towards number 12.

Luckily Severus wasn't very heavy and for that, Remus thanked Merlin. There would have been no way he'd have been able to support him in this way if Severus had been on the larger side. He walked very slowly across the grassy verge and Severus hobbled weakly next to him. He was as white as a sheet – and that was greatly emphasised by the dark of the night, his shivering had in no way abated and Remus had to swallow his fears for the man as they continued to slowly make their way towards Number 12. He could feel Severus' grip on his shoulder slipping more and more with every step until his hand loosened completely and he collapsed to his knees on the floor, pulling Remus down with him.

"Lupin." Severus said, panting, "It's not… I can't," sweat was dripping down his forehead and he looked like he was going to fall unconscious at any moment. Remus looked desperately to the house in front of them – the front steps were mere metres away.

"Come on Severus, it's not much further now," he said as he dragged him the few remaining metres, and Severus managed to get back to his feet, probably using the last morsels of his energy before they stumbled and fell up the eight (he counted as they ascended them) concrete steps and arrived at the top. He somehow managed to get them through the door and they found themselves in the dusty hallway of the former House of Black. Remus still had, through some miracle managed to keep hold of the cloak at Severus' stomach, not that it had seemed to help much, Remus thought, as he glanced down at the amount of red painting his hand, much easier to see in the light of the house.

"Sirius!" Remus shouted, "Sirius, where are you?" He couldn't help but roll his eyes in annoyance as the portrait of Mrs Black awoke from her slumber and insulted both men in the hallway with some colourful language, in the loudest and shrillest voice possible.

"Oh wonderful, _Sirius_ is coming." Came a snarky voice from beside him. Remus sighed heavily through his nose at the thought of the two men being in the same room as each other. It was going to be difficult enough sorting Severus out, never mind having to cope with his and Sirius' complaining as well. A bounding came from the stairs and soon enough Sirius appeared at the bottom of them looking rather dishevelled; bare foot and in a pair of moth bitten pyjama bottoms and an undone dressing gown. His eyes lit up upon seeing his old friend.

"Remus!" he said, delighted before casting eyes upon the man leaning on him, "and Snape" – not so delighted. Severus' glassy eyes glittered for a split second and he weakly raised the corners of his mouth into a sarcastic smile. Remus was not, in all honesty very shocked that Severus, even in his severely weakened state, could continue to live up to his reputation of constant sarcasm. Sirius regarded them both briefly. It must have been quite a strange sight, Remus thought. To find his childhood friend practically hugging his childhood nemesis in the hallway of his loathed childhood house at ten past three in the morning. Sirius' eyes stopped on the bloody cloak and hand at Severus' stomach and his expression turned to confusion.

"Why have you brought a profusely bleeding Snape into my mother's house, Remus?" He asked calmly.


	3. Chapter 2: Oh Believe Me, Snivellus

Hello again. I'm very sorry for the delay in uploading this chapter. Over the past week there's been a lot of stress with writing essays about things I really don't care too much about but luckily they're all finished now. Tomorrow I get one back which I wrote before Christmas and I'm very nervous about it. Oh well I digress. I probably should let you all know that this is AU if you hadn't already guessed. It takes place in the Summer before Harry's 5th year and shortly before the dementor incident. After I'd finished writing this chapter I remembered the Weasleys. I'm not entirely sure when they canonically started living at Grimmauld Place in that summer so in this it's going to be really not long before Harry.

Thank you to the wonderful people who reviewed this and followed and favourited it. It made me smile sort of goofily and it was very nice :)

Disclaimer: If I wrote Harry Potter I would not be sitting here smoking Pall Malls and sleeping with cheap arse pillows that are basically no thicker than cardboard. So yeah, I don't own Harry Potter or any of it's affiliations.

...

"_Why have you brought a profusely bleeding Snape into my mother's house, Remus?" He asked calmly._

"Severus here had a bit of an accident while we were watching over Harry's house." Remus replied with the same amount of casualness in his words, "I'm sure he'd appreciate it as much as I would, if you'd put aside your grievances and help him to recover, wouldn't you Severus"

"I'd be forever… indebted to you, Black" Severus agreed with a slurred, mocking enthusiasm, and after which Remus couldn't quite work out whether he was bowing to Sirius or doubling over in pain. Either way Sirius' expression of confusion did not abate, and he slowly walked up to the two men, bent down, gently pulled the bundled cloak from Remus' grip and regarded the bloody rip beneath it for a second.

"That's quite an accident, Snape" he said, replacing the cloak and Remus' hand to the wound "We had better get you to the kitchen. I doubt you can climb the stairs and I'm sure the table in there is just as fine as any feather stuffed bed at St. Mungo's." He fastened up his dressing gown and led them past the still screeching portrait of Mrs Black and through the kitchen door. Upon arrival Sirius started to clear the kitchen table as quickly as he could. It would have appeared that his house elf had left it to neglect in both Sirius' absence and presence at number 12 and therefore the kitchen was in a rather unsightly state. Remus leaned Severus against the kitchen door holding him up with one hand and tried to strip him of his robes with the other. He seemed to have drifted off into a world of his own again and when his eyes weren't drowsily shut, they were glassy and distant. He attempted to aid Remus who was frantically pawing over the many golden buttons adorning Severus' robe, and raised shaky hands to each one in turn.

"Merlin, Severus why do you need so many buttons?" Remus asked, exasperated as his hands fumbled over them. Severus closed his eyes and breathed in slowly, "For moments just like this." he replied after a minute and Remus stifled a laugh, instead sighing with relief as they finally managed to undo the robe, taking it off and throwing it to the side quite unceremoniously. Now Severus stood there in a – what had been white – shirt, tucked into some stained black trousers. He was getting quite breathless and sweat was still pouring off his forehead while the rest of his body still shivered with cold. Remus politely tried to ignore the large red stain and tear which had decorated the front of Severus' shirt, taking out his wand and casting a heating spell on him, before forsaking the new set of buttons and ripping the shirt open with his bare hands. Severus' breathing hitched several times as bits of the shirt which must have clung to his sticky wound were mercilessly torn away from it.

"I'll be expecting a new… shirt from you, Lupin" he said breathlessly, and so quietly Remus almost didn't hear him, "That one was in very good condition..."

Remus stared at the wound that was now visible on Severus' stomach. It wasn't just a stab wound it was an angry red hole, like someone had twisted a knife inside of him. It oozed blood like a tap. Sirius, who had finished sanitising the kitchen, had come to stand next to him in front of the sweating, shivering man leaning against the door.

"Merlin's shit, who did that?" he said without preamble. Severus, who had had his eyes drowsily closed, opened them and followed their gazes to his stomach. His eyes widened and he lifted his head back up, letting it thump against the door, before sliding slowly down to the floor. Remus and Sirius both moved quickly, grabbing an arm each and pulling him back to standing position, but it was no use. Severus' legs could no longer hold his weight and they simply buckled beneath him as soon as he tried to use them. Seeing no other option, Sirius moved to hold Severus' legs and Remus, understanding his friend's intention shuffled awkwardly round to hold his torso and together they lifted the semi-conscious man and managed to lay him flat on the kitchen table.

"I'm going to have to fire-call Dumbledore," Remus said to nobody in particular, "he'll need to know what's happened." He walked briskly to the fireplace on the other side of the room, threw in some fire powder and called for Dumbledore. After a few moments, the face of the man in question appeared before him in the flames, looking up at him expectantly.

"Remus," he said, "Is everything alright? You know how I like you to keep in touch, but half past three in the morning is a little extreme."

"Not really, Albus. Severus has been attacked. It's quite serious." Remus relayed his story to the headmaster of how he had found Severus after he'd said the emergency word and how they were now both in Sirius Black's kitchen. After Remus had finished, Dumbledore paused in thought for a few seconds, his brow furrowed in concern.

"I see," he said seriously. "And is Severus currently conscious?" Dumbledore was interrupted by the sound of Severus crying out and swearing quite loudly. Remus turned to see Sirius restraining the man with one arm, while he used his other hand to dab at Severus' wound with a damp cloth. Severus' eyes had closed in agony and he appeared to be muttering something under his breath. Insults probably. Sirius for his credit, was not returning Severus' abuses with a hex.

"Severus, my dear boy," Sirius said in mock congeniality, "It would not do, to utter such a dirty word in the presence of professor Dumbledore." Remus turned back to Dumbledore in the fireplace, smiling apologetically as he distinctly heard Severus replying,

"Go fuck yourself," before Sirius in return said,

"Oh believe me, Snivellus I do. All the time,"

Remus, paused and nodded his head silently at Dumbledore's earlier query of _is Severus currently conscious_, as if the previous display of his and Sirius' swearing at each other had not been enough to prove it, and Dumbledore smiled in understanding.

"I'll find you and Severus some replacements for the watch duty. I imagine Mundungus might do it, if I ask him nicely enough. Then I'll be straight over." Remus physically sagged with relief as the headmaster's head disappeared from the flames in the fireplace and he returned to the kitchen table. Sirius was now kneeling with one knee on the edge of the table and the other on Severus' chest. He was leaning forward and had his hand on Severus' shoulder while he tried to dab at the wound with the damp cloth. Severus was breathing heavily through gritted teeth – his eyes clenched shut and his brow furrowed in pain.

"Sirius, is it really necessary to restrain Severus so forcefully? He's in enough pain as it is," Remus said, forcing back a sigh.

"I needed to clean the wound and without a wand, the Muggle way had to suffice, but Writhey McWrithe here wouldn't stop writhi-"

"It may have escaped… your notice, Black, but it hurts... like Hell… when you poke… an open wound" Severus interrupted tiredly. Remus nodded in sympathy, he hadn't initially understood why Sirius was cleaning Severus' wound the Muggle way instead of a quick and painless cleaning charm, and then he'd remembered that Sirius didn't _have_ his wand. Even so, he could have simply used Severus' or his own. He voiced his thoughts to him and Sirius grinned boyishly and replied,

"But where would be the fun in _that?_"

Remus loved Sirius with all of his heart, he really did. He was like a brother to him, but by God sometimes the man was really quite infuriating. He flicked his wand at the still kneeling Sirius and sent him flying back quite forcefully into a pile of chairs that had been assembled on the other side of the room. Remus ignored his annoyed complaints and concentrated on Severus instead.

"Are you alright, Severus?" he asked. Severus opened his eyes slowly and regarded him for a second or two in silence with a look on his face that seemed to ask _are you a moron? _Before closing them again and Remus nodded in understanding of his underlying meaning: _no, not really_. He once again flicked his wand and the blood was cleared away from Severus' stomach. Then he summoned a towel and pressed it firmly against it and Severus grabbed his wrist weakly, breathing heavily and arched his head back – his eyes still closed shut. With one hand still pressed to the towel, Remus patted him on the shoulder in consolation. Sirius seemed to have disappeared somewhere and Remus absently wondered where he'd gone. He hoped he wasn't sulking, it seemed like just the childish thing he normally liked to do, and Remus had hoped he'd think better of it tonight. Luckily Sirius returned a moment later with a bottle of light blue potion in one hand, a bottle of fire-whiskey in the other and a teeth baring smile upon his face.

"I was trying to find some pain relieving potion," Sirius explained, "unfortunately we seem to be all out. That's why I've brought this." He raised the arm holding the fire-whiskey. Remus doubted very much that the best alternative to a pain relieving potion was fire-whiskey, and he also doubted that it was safe for a man who seemed to have lost as much blood as Severus to be drinking anything alcoholic any time soon. Never the less he smiled and gestured to the potion in Sirius' other hand. "And what might that be?" he asked and Sirius beamed at the question as if he'd been expecting it.

"_This_, my friend is a blood replenishing potion. I'd almost given up – _almost given up_ and then I saw it, staring up at me, begging to be put to use. And I simply couldn't help but marvel at the luck that had surrounded me in that moment. It was a lucky find, I tell you, Remus. A lucky find. I never would have dreamt that my mother would have such a concoction in her home, it might even be older than _I _am." Sirius explained happily. The pair looked to the man lying on the kitchen table. His eyes were still closed, but gentler now and Remus only now noticed that his grip on his wrist had loosened completely and Severus' hand now rested limply atop his thigh. Remus observed for perhaps the first time how young they all were. It was clear to see as Severus slept – he was only as old as Remus was: 35, Sirius too. And that was sometimes easy to forget. It was funny, actually, the man could have been dead and lying in a coffin. He certainly looked the part – with his face so pale and pallid and his eyes shut to the world. Even his chest didn't seem to be moving.

"Remus, is he breathing?" Sirius asked. Remus' eyes widened. _Oh fuck._

_..._

Cliffhanger. Yay! I'm slightly concerned that I might need to change the rating of this fic to M. There's a wee bit of swearing but I'm a bit of a swearer anyway, heck I say the F word as often as I say 'the', so obviously I don't notice it as much but yeah I'm not sure. If anyone has any thoughts about it can you please let me know? It would be a huge help!


	4. Chapter 3: It was a Dream, Severus

Hello again. I apologise for the delay in updation - I don't care if that's not a real word - it's appropriate and I'm ignoring the squiggly red line that's condescendingly staring at me, rn. Anyway I've had a heck of a week and so yes I once again apologise. Thank you to the lovely, wonderful reviewers and followers and favouriters (once again the squiggly red line is shouting at me, the bloody prescriptivist!) I will endeavour to bring you the next bit in like... sometime this week. So happy reading, folks.

For future reference, I made up a spell because it was necessary. Don vitam has a very similar function to defibrillators and the _don_ is a diminutive of the French _donner _- to give and the _vitam _is latin for life (thank you google translate).

Disclaimer: **Cut scene to a darkened stage and an audience, too in darkness and waiting with baited breath for what they expect to come. I walk slowly out - a single spot light guides my way. I'm beautiful, adorned in a stunning sequinned dress of turquoise. I gracefully take my place in the middle of the stage. I wait. The audience grows restless in anticipation. I wait some more. The audience grows desperate. They physically cannot wait any longer. _The suspense will kill them._ I clear my throat and proclaim to the hordes, "None of the characters in this fan fiction are owned by me." I run gracefully off the stage and into the wings, as daintily as a ballerina.**

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_"Remus, is he breathing?" Sirius asked. Oh fuck._

Remus quickly moved from the towel on Severus' stomach, letting it slip to the dusty floor and put two fingers to Severus' neck. _Oh shit, no, no._ He gave Sirius a meaningful glance, who turned and put the two bottles that were still held in his hands on one of the counter tops. A crash sounded as the bottle of fire whiskey fell to the floor, and the two men rolled their eyes, mirroring each other perfectly. Sirius once again pulled himself up into a kneeling position on the edge of the kitchen table, however this time _next_ to the ailing man instead of _atop_ him, clasped his fingers together and pumped into his chest, counting under his breath as he went. When he had finished Remus held his wand to Severus' heart and said,

_"don vitam"_

Severus' body jolted against the table, but aside from that nothing happened. Remus held two fingers to the man's neck and upon finding nothing, shook his head. Sirius clasped his fingers together once again and pumped into Severus' chest, still counting under his breath as he went. And when he had, for the second time finished pumping into Severus' chest, Remus recast the spell. Severus' whole body seemed to almost jump into the air, thanks to the amount of power in Remus' casting and for a few fleeting moments, it looked as if it had failed to work yet again, but then Severus' eyes flew open and he gasped in air frantically before clenching his eyes shut painfully and letting it all go again a moment later.

"Well that was rather frightening, wasn't it?" came a convivial voice from the fire place. Remus turned around to find Dumbledore standing there with dust on his robes and an almost hidden expression of concern on his brow.

"How long have you been standing there?" Remus asked. Sirius, he noted was still kneeling on the edge of the table, looking down at Severus, who seemed to be neither conscious not unconscious, with an odd expression playing upon his face: worry perhaps. Dumbledore ignored his question and walked up to Severus, pulling his wand out of his robe as he went. When he reached the man he smiled down at him and cast a diagnostic spell over his body before regarding the results set before him earnestly. After a few moments, Dumbledore still had not moved his eyes from the results of Severus' diagnostic spell and Remus began to grow worried. Even more so than he had already been. Dumbledore was not often lost for words. He shuffled his feet a little and cleared his throat and Dumbledore glanced at him as if he had only just noticed Remus' presence.

"Severus, you haven't been drinking anything recently, have you?" he asked Severus slowly. Severus paused uncertainly, "only what…. I need to stay alive" he replied. Dumbledore laughed, "Of course, my boy as I would have expected. But you would tell me, if you had drunk any potions?" he asked.

Severus' eyes flashed, "I haven't. Not even… for a cold," he said breathlessly. Dumbledore frowned and looked once more at the results of the diagnostic spell in front of him. Remus was confused. Why would he want to know whether Severus had taken any potions? What did the diagnostic spell show? Remus glanced at Sirius who appeared to be asking himself the same questions, his brow furrowed in thought. Dumbledore was looking back at Severus, opening his mouth and closing it once more. "The diagnostic spell indicates that you have a potion in your system. One I don't recognise as being legal. I find that it is likely to be the cause of that cardiac arrest, just now." Dumbledore paused while Severus tried to understand what he had heard.

"Which potion?" Remus asked. Dumbledore looked back at the results of the diagnostic spell, "The draft of the broken heart." Severus closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. Remus did not, however understand. He had not heard of this potion. And apparently neither had Sirius, "the what?" he asked.

"The draft of the broken heart simply breaks the heart. It stops it from functioning properly; eventually killing the person who has drunk it. It is a slow and painful death." Dumbledore explained.

"But surely there's an antidote?" Remus asked. Dumbledore shook his head, "not to my knowledge. The draft of the broken heart is a very dark potion, very dark indeed." Remus leaned again the wall and ran his hand through his hair as he took the information in. Severus opened his eyes and looked at Remus with what he could only interpret as fear. And Remus feared with him. He was well aware that he and Severus were not and had not ever been the best of friends but, oh how he wished people would just stop dying. He had grown so weary of it, and Voldemort had only just a few months since returned. If it were to be anything like the first war, there would be plenty more deaths to come and he did not like that at all. The men each contemplated the news in silence for a while. _What could they possibly do?_ Remus conjured some bandages around Severus' stomach and a stain of red appeared on them almost immediately. Sirius, who had still been kneeling haphazardly on the edge of the table, hopped down and, purposefully ignoring the spilled bottle of fire-whiskey on the floor, grabbed the blood replenisher potion bottle from the counter top.

"He's lost a lot of blood," he said seriously, holding up the bottle to Dumbledore, "Would it harm him to drink this?" Dumbledore raised Severus into a half sitting position and replied, "I highly doubt Severus could be harmed much more than he already is." Taking this as a sufficient answer, Sirius poured the potion into Severus' mouth as gently as he could. Immediately Severus began to cough and splutter and tried, failingly, to push both Sirius and Dumbledore away from him with weak arms. He was mumbling between his chokes, begging them to stop, and turning his head weakly from one side to the other. The man was struggling so much, that Remus worried that if the attack wouldn't kill him, this might. He was about to express his concerns when Sirius suddenly pulled the flask away from Severus' mouth and stood back looking rather uncertain.

"I'm not really sure that this is the best way to get him to drink it" Sirius said slightly breathlessly, not taking his eyes from Severus who was wheezing in Dumbledore's arms. Dumbledore nodded in agreement, but continued to hold Severus in the half sitting, half laying position until the last of his coughing had abated. When finally it looked as if Severus had finished with his coughing fit, Dumbledore laid him back down and placed his hand gently on his shoulder. For a moment or two he simply stared at Remus right in the eyes with a grave expression on his face.

"The Dark Lord… wanted it." Came the hoarse voice of Severus. Dumbledore looked down at him in surprise. Severus continued, "I tried to botch it up. The potion. He ordered me. But I pretended I couldn't. It angered him. He was _bored_… of the killing curse." Sirius caught Remus' eye and for a moment they shared in anxious contact.

"Severus, if I may. Would you be so kind as to allow me to see the attack from earlier tonight? I'd use _legilimens_ if you would permit me." Said Dumbledore as he straightened from his half crouched position at Severus' "bed"-side and grimaced as his back cracked mercilessly. Severus seemed to evaluate his options for a short while before nodding his head at Dumbledore in consent of the intrusion of his mind. Remus and Sirius looked on as Dumbledore cast _legilimens_ and Severus' body immediately stiffening as if in discomfort which, Remus surmised sadly, he most probably was. A thin bead of sweat poured down his forehead, but for the duration of the casting, he did not break eye contact with Dumbledore or respond with occlumency, though Remus knew he probably wished to.

Soon the practice was finished and Severus bodily relaxed into the table and closed his eyes once again. Remus could only imagine how much pain the man was in as he watched him breathing slowly, yet shallowly upon that table, with his brow completely furrowed. Dumbledore on his part summoned a chair – looking every year of his age and leant his forehead onto clasped fingers, deep in consideration of what he had just seen inside Severus' mind. It was now that Remus remembered how absolutely and completely tired he was. It felt like it had hit him like a tonne of bricks and before he could collapse with the unmitigated fatigue which was threatening to overrun his body, he too summoned a chair and dropped himself ungracefully into it. Dumbledore looked at him, his thoughts interrupted, with a face full of concern.

"Remus, my dear boy, I almost forgot about that full moon. Go and rest. You'll most certainly need it." Said Dumbledore. Remus considered his words for a moment or two. He _could_ do that. Merlin only knew of the ridiculous amount of bedrooms that this house had to offer. Surely he could steal a couple of hours' sleep and regain some strength. He would prefer to be around to find out what was happening, though. He felt a strange sense of responsibility for his old colleague. One that he couldn't entirely understand. He sighed audibly. He sincerely wished Sirius hadn't dropped that bottle of firewhiskey. He would have drunk the whole bottle here and now if he'd had the opportunity.

"Thank you for your concern, Albus, I mean it. But I'm fine, honestly. Just a little tired. And besides – I would have been awake anyway had the events of tonight not occurred. I would have still been watching over Harry's house." Remus replied. He had only realised it as he was talking but it could only have been half past three. Perhaps quarter to four at the very latest. If Severus had not been attacked they would both have still been standing on Privet Drive. Dumbledore smiled.

"As long as you're certain, Remus." He turned to Sirius, who was attempting to clear up the spilled bottle of firewhiskey with Remus' blood stained cloak. "Sirius, you wouldn't happen to have a spare bed for Severus would you? He's in rather a large amount of pain and I'm afraid the kitchen table does nothing to alleviate it." Severus narrowed his eyes at Dumbledore for revealing what he most probably felt was a weakness, giving him a look which would cause any first year or seventh year, for that matter, to run and hide in unprecedented terror, but Dumbledore met it with a friendly smile, a twinkle of the eyes and a loving pat on the shoulder.

"Yes, yes of course. I need this room for meals anyway, I don't particularly fancy eating them off of Severus, as much as he might want me to." Sirius said jovially as he stood with the bloody cloak in his hands before looking down at it, grimacing slightly and throwing it into the nearby bin. Severus, perhaps now too weakened to continue with the petrifying glares, laid perfectly still on the table, his eyes fixed on a spot on the ceiling, and Remus found himself momentarily panicking that he was dead, before the man granted him with a blink.

"Wonderful." Dumbledore said, with a small smile. "I have many tasks I need to fulfil. A few of which involve Severus. The attack will need to be reported to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The Draft of the Broken Heart is an insidious potion. However I might find something that can be of help, should I search in the right places." He stood and once again patted Severus amiably on the shoulder and made his way towards the fireplace. Once inside it he turned sharply with fire powder in hand and looked back at Remus.

"And Remus, if anything should happen during my absence, regarding a certain person's H-E-A-R-T, please inform me as soon as you're able." He threw down the powder and was gone in a flurry of green. Remus glanced from Sirius on the other side of the table who was checking Severus' wound underneath the bandages, to Severus himself who was still lying in the same position staring at the same spot on the ceiling.

"You know, anyone would think… he'd hired a teacher… who was unable to spell." Severus whispered haltingly. Remus laughed and conjured a stretcher to help them get the man upstairs. He suddenly felt even older than Dumbledore, and rubbed at his eyes, fleeting with wear. Sirius, noticing his friend's fatigue snatched the wand from Remus' hand. Remus opened his eyes in surprise and looked at Sirius to find him slowly carefully levitating Severus onto the stretcher. His eyes widened further at the sight of it. Sirius didn't have a great track record with levitating an incapacitated Severus.

"Sirius are you sure you should be the one to levitate Severus? We all remember only too clearly how well you fared the last time you carried out the task." He said. Images sprang into his mind of when, just over a year ago, Harry and his friends had knocked Severus unconscious and Sirius had levitated him out of the Shrieking Shack, careful to bang him into every corner of the way. Severus turned his head towards him weakly, a look of confusion on his face.

"What?" He asked before hissing in pain as he was hastily dropped back onto the table by Sirius, who had turned on his heel and was shaking his head at Remus frantically with wide eyes. Severus obviously still wasn't aware of how he was brought out of the Shrieking Shack. Now probably wasn't the best time to inform him of it. In fact, Remus doubted that any time was a good time to inform him of it. Oh to Hell with it, Remus thought, Sirius wouldn't walk him into any walls _this_ time. He'd make sure of it. Before he could say anything, Sirius had turned back to Severus.

"Nothing Snape, it was a dream. You were dreaming." He said, patting him on the shoulder in an action which might have mirrored the earlier one of Dumbledore had it not been so forced. Severus looked at Sirius in suspicion before casting his eyes back at Remus who turned and opened the door in order to avoid eye contact.

"It was a dream, Severus. You were dreaming." He repeated, looking anywhere but at Severus' eyes as they made their way once again, past the still screeching Mrs Black portrait ("_You deserve to shed blood, you filthy half-blood_") and towards the stairs. As they ascended them, Remus made sure to put his hand on Severus' shoulder and lead them away from the wobbly bannister at their side. Severus seemed to be awake enough for now, but his shivering had returned as if with a vengeance. The coldness he felt that was caused by his lack of blood was most likely not helped by his current lack of clothing and Remus squeezed the shoulder under his hand in support.

Remus found himself worrying that Dumbledore wouldn't find anything to counteract the poison which that had invaded Severus' system. He turned his head and looked back at Sirius, who was staring, in full concentration, at the body he was levitating. He was most likely out of practice. Remus wasn't fully aware of how things worked in Azkaban but he was quite sure that the dementors didn't just go about allowing prisoners to cast _Wingardium Leviosa's_ here and there as it pleased them. He laughed a little as he imagined Sirius and some of the other more murderous inmates levitating disgruntled dementors and having a good old laugh about it.

Suddenly an arm grabbed his forearm tightly. Remus looked down at Severus in confusion to see him gasping for air frantically and looking at him with desperate, panicking eyes. The hand that was not grasping onto Remus' arm was pressed against his chest, pinching and scratching at the skin with his fingers like he was trying to loosen non-existent ties from around his neck.

"Fuck… I can't breathe." Severus wheezed and Remus and Sirius both immediately started to run up the remainder of the stairs. Remus restarted his chant from earlier, trying to calm himself as much as Severus.

"It's ok, Severus. Just stay with me. Just hang in there." Severus continued to look at him with wide panicking eyes for just a second longer before his pupils rolled back into his head and his eye lids fluttered and closed. The grip on his arm had fallen away completely and hung lifelessly over the side of the stretcher. Remus bent to grab it as they ran down the corridor towards the nearest bedroom and he tried frantically to find a pulse. In the end he settled for holding the cold hand tightly and patting it and he continued with his ceaseless uttering of meaningless soothing phrases.

After what had seemed like much too long, they finally manoeuvred Severus through the doorway of the closest bedroom and dropped him onto the pure white coverings of the bed. Remus, lacking his wand, wasted no time in clasping his hands together, ignoring the crack of his knuckles as he did, and pressed into Severus' chest. He stepped back a moment later as Sirius held out his wand and cast _don vitam_. Severus' body jolted against the bed quilts and when nothing happened Remus clasped his hands together again and the pair repeated the process not once but twice more. After the third time Severus' eyes once again flew open and he once again gasped in air. Remus could hear Sirius exhaling audibly and he did the same, pulling his hands to the back of his head as he did and regarding Severus closely. He had not expected, deep down that Severus would be revived but apparently the man had defied the odds. It had taken longer to revive him this time, he noted – next time they might not be so lucky.

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Hope you enjoyed. I also must apologise for the ridiculously long author's note preceding this chapter, I get carried away with the disclaimers.


	5. Chapter 4: Everything Alright, Severus?

Another update. Once again thank you to the lovely reviewers and favouritors and followers. You make me smile and ily. This chapter is not as long as the others. Basically I wrote the first like 20k words without adding where chapters start and end so when I've been editing it and uploading it to here I've had to find the most suitable-ish place to end. Anyway, we're going a bit risky in this one. I haven't seen this done before in HP fanfics especially with these characters and I'm very worried that it won't work. I hope it does. It does in my mind, at least. If you hate it please let me know. If you love it likewise. If you're indifferent about it, talk to me anyway - say hi! I'm very friendly

Disclaimer: You're running through a forest late at night. Something is chasing you. It's getting closer. The batteries in your torch are dying. You can hear your own breath heaving as you force one foot in front of the other. You're growing weary. You've been running for hours. You do not see a log on the ground. You trip and tumble gracelessly to the ground and the thing throws itself on top of you. Before you have time to scream it puts its hand over your mouth and whispers into your ear "MT Linshaw does not own any part of Harry Potter."

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Remus Lupin was not much of a worrier. For as long as he could recall, he would remain collected in situations that warranted it. Perhaps not entirely _calm_ because obviously he, like any other wizard could not grasp onto his emotions for the entire time. But he could at least formulate cohesive sentences and plans in his head. This was not one of those times. For you see, dear reader Remus stood at the foot of a bed which held a dying man. And it wasn't peaceful dying, oh no. This was entirely without peace.

The situation was, in Remus' opinion, disgusting and bulbous and confusing and frustrating and- oh Merlin he did not know what to do. Severus was not at this moment very well at all. His gaze was unfocused, flitting drunkenly from side to side and from his throat a low throaty groan of pain would escape. He was in an unimaginable amount of discomfort, that much was clear, and Remus did not know, for the life of him how they could alleviate it. Sirius had, at some point moved to the other side of the room and leaned against the door tiredly. He, like Remus looked on as Severus writhed weakly and bled on the wrinkled white sheets of the bed. And still Remus could not fathom what was best for them to do. A werewolf and an escaped convict were not the best people at all to be playing 'look after the dying man'.

Remus walked up to the bed and stood for a minute deciding where best to put his hands. He didn't have the tenacity or bravery that Dumbledore held to invade Severus' privacy. The man needed comfort though. Anyone would. Finally Remus settled for putting his hands on the side of the bed, near to Severus' torso and crouched down. It was now that Remus realised with dismay that this act of support would not particularly solve anything. It all frustrated Remus immensely because by Merlin he'd fought Death Eaters! He'd turned into a fucking monster every month! He'd taught children in the presence of dementors for almost a year! And he couldn't comfort a dying man. Would it have been different had it been Sirius on the bed he did not know. Had it even been Harry, still he was uncertain of what he would have done. Remus understood that Dumbledore was searching for something to help Severus, but oh how he wished he could find it from here by Severus' bedside so that all he would have had to do is watch with sad eyes and hate Voldemort with every fibre of his body for being such a piece of rotting dragon's genitalia. Remus closed his eyes briefly and focused on the hitched and rattling breaths of his comrade.

"We're in over our heads, Remus. He needs a healer" Sirius said suddenly. Remus opened his eyes and regarded Sirius with a long hard stare. "I know he can't go to St. Mungo's. I mean, if this was the Death Eaters-"

"It was obviously Death Eaters, Sirius." Remus interrupted.

"If this _was_ the Death Eaters," Sirius repeated a little louder, "then I know they could just walk right on in there and finish the job. By Merlin, with Lucius Malfoy's reputation in the ministry, he can probably get in _anywhere._ How easy would it be for him to simply waltz in declaring ministry business and… tamper with something? But it is imperative that he see a healer, Remus. We're not equipped to deal with this. We have one wand between us, for Christ's sake. And my healing spells are rusty."

Remus vehemently hated the world then, just for a moment. He hated it all. He hated Voldemort for obvious reasons; he hated the Ministry and their ridiculous cowardice; he even hated Dumbledore. So transfixed by his own thoughts was Remus that he didn't entirely notice that his friend had continued to talk.

"-if they walked in on him, they'd be traumatised for life. Even _I'm_ pretty freaked out by all of this." Sirius was saying. Remus was utterly confused. "What?" he asked, his brow furrowing as he struggled to create some context in what Sirius had said. Sirius sighed and summoned a nearby arm chair to him with Remus' wand, grimacing slightly as the chair legs made a loud screeching noise against the bare floor boards, and sank into it as soon as it reached him.

"The Weasleys will be coming to stay here very soon." Sirius repeated with emphasised clarity, conveying his slight annoyance at having not been listened to. "As will many other members of the Order. It would not bode well for anyone else to see Snape like this. And as much as I honestly don't care what he thinks or how he feels, I imagine that he would not particularly enjoy it either."

Remus nodded silently. Sirius spoke the truth. As the seconds passed by he grew more and more certain that Grimmauld Place was not where Severus should be as he recuperated. _Or died, _his mind whispered and Remus swore at himself. Dumbledore knew people in high places, he could find something. A cure or an antidote or just _anything_. Surely he could.

Suddenly a thought occurred to Remus from out of positively nowhere. Muggles had heart attacks all of the time. He'd read about it. Muggle hospitals; they were equipped to deal with this sort of thing. Well not _this_ sort of thing, but they could fix bones and limbs and organs and hearts! It would be strange. It would be so strange. He wasn't even sure whether Severus would agree, but what did that even matter? He was dying, and desperate times called for desperate measures.

"I could get him to a Muggle hospital." He said to Sirius. Sirius' change in facial expression was comical. Naturally, Remus didn't laugh as the situation simply had no need of it but he observed its humourous qualities nonetheless.

Remus continued to consider his suggestion for a moment. He knew nothing of Muggle hospital really except that their healers were called 'doctors' and their potions were called medi-sense, or something of the like which were able to heal the Muggles in a very similar fashion. Could they heal Severus? They would not be able to inform them of their situation, naturally. Sirius' expression had changed from open-mouthed shock to contemplation. Remus was aware that Sirius' experience with Muggle traditions was even more limited than his own.

Severus who had stopped writhing for the moment and who, unbeknownst to Remus had also been considering his suggestion, spoke up "The idea is not… terrible." He said quietly. Well that was a surprise. Remus had thought he'd be averse to the idea.

"Death Eaters would not find him either." Sirius added. Remus took note of Sirius' apparent concern for the safety of his childhood/adulthood foe. Remus had had enough. It was decided. Severus would go to a Muggle hospital. He stood and grimaced as his back protested painfully, and he informed Severus of where he would be taking him. Sirius stood from his chair, "I'm coming too." He said. Remus looked at his friend in disbelief. Sirius couldn't come. Dumbledore had told him not to leave the house. "You can't take him alone, I highly doubt that you're strong enough to apparate you both safely." Remus shook his head, "You can't go swanning about in public, Padfoot. Even in the Muggle world you're a supposed highly dangerous murderer."

"And yet you cannot go alone, Remus."

"I'll get Arthur, he'll-" Remus was interrupted by Severus who had decided to repeat Arthur's name for reasons Remus could not understand.

"Everything alright, Severus?" He asked him carefully, worried that it wasn't. The side of Severus' mouth twitched slightly, "Forgot his name earlier." He replied. Remus stalled nonplussed, he still had no idea what Severus was saying. The man was most probably delusional from his blood loss.

Remus continued, "Arthur can come with me"

Sirius persevered, "I've shaved off my beard since that picture was taken at Azkaban, Moony. I have shorter hair. I'm clean, and I'm not laughing maniacally. No one will recognise me. No one at all!" Remus considered him for a moment. He sighed. He _would_ need help. And Sirius was kind to offer it. But he could only imagine what would happen to them if someone recognised him. That would be a highly dangerous situation indeed. Perhaps no more so than the one they were already in.

"Alright." He said quickly, before he could change his mind. "We'll take him to a Muggle hospital. Put something Muggle on."

"Oh yes. Okay. I'll just look in my mother's wardrobe. I'm sure she has something suitably Muggle for me to wear." Sirius replied granting him with a serious expression. "Get real, Remus, you know as well as I do how much of a Muggle hating bitch my mother was. What's wrong with what I'm currently wearing?"

Remus sighed in exasperation as he looked over Sirius' dressing gown and pyjama bottoms. "We need to be inconspicuous." Remus gestured towards Sirius' attire. "That is not inconspicuous. You don't own a shirt? Even Severus has a shirt and he's a Death Eater."

"I think we've established tonight, that he's probably _not_ a Death Eater" Sirius shot back.

"He still goes to the meetings, Sirius. If _he_ has a shirt, then you _must_ have a shirt." Sirius tilted Remus' wand towards himself and silently made a lime green shirt appear in place of his dressing gown and some black trousers in the place of the pyjama bottoms. He questioned Remus with his eyes and Remus nodded his permission. That would do. He shook his head, eradicating the worry of their probable impending capture by Muggle law enforcers and focused on the matter at hand. He looked down at his clothes and concluded that he'd probably look more normal, in any world than Sirius and that would do for him. He looked towards Severus who was flitting back and forth from unconscious to conscious and back to unconscious again, on the bed and realised they'd need a story to tell the doctors. They'd want to know what happened. They couldn't tell them the truth.

"We'll tell them that we were in the pub." Sirius suggested.

"At 4 in the morning?"

"Maybe Muggle pubs close later than Wizard pubs."

"That's ridiculous, Sirius"

"Why? Why is that ridiculous?"

"They don't... It isn't feasible."

"Then we'll say it was an intruder."

Remus briefly considered it. It would do, he supposed. Remus noticed the blood stained bandages adorning Severus' torso and he removed them hastily. The 'doctors' at the hospital would likely wonder why they'd stopped to tightly bandage their companion's wound. Sirius went and got Severus' shirt, repaired it and transferred it back onto Severus' body. They'd tell Dumbledore of their whereabouts later, Remus thought, as he grabbed Severus' legs, Sirius: his arms, and they heaved the now unconscious man back down the stairs and out of the front door. Sirius' who still had Remus' wand would do the apparating. He looked at Remus with an expression of apprehension before they felt the familiar pull of Apparition.

They landed in a darkened alley in… well Remus couldn't quite work that out. He just knew they'd appeared somewhere else. Severus, in their arms had once again been awoken by the Apparition, this time however in a great deal more pain than before. His head was arched back against Sirius' shoulder, and his eyes were clenched shut while his mouth omitted weak, hoarse cries of agony. Before he knew what was happening, Remus felt Severus pull away from him, almost dropping him as Sirius started to almost sprint backwards out of the alley. Remus followed tripping, but thankfully not falling, over his own feet and in a couple of seconds they could see the entrance to a large grey Muggle hospital. Remus had never been happier to catch sight of, well _anything_. The whole building seemed to glow as they bustled through the entrance doors and they walked towards the reception desk. An overweight woman with shoulder length brown hair and a face full of make-up sat behind it. She was talking to a short stocky woman with short blonde hair who was leaning on the other side of the desk, dressed in a dark green jumpsuit type thing.

"We need a doctor!" Remus and Sirius both called simultaneously as they heaved Severus towards the desk.

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A/N: So as I said, it'd be wonderfully useful and usefully wonderful to know what people think about the new developments. Got some criticism? Constructive or otherwise? Let me know! Got some praise? Come along! I'll update once again during the week, most likely Wednesday or Thursday.


	6. Chapter 5: Severus, Severus Sidney

Good afternoon/evening/morning to you all. We've got a few OCs now as obviously there are no doctors and nurses in the HP series. Thank you graciously to all of the unimaginably beautiful reviewers and followers and favouriters. You make me blush and giggle and then blush some more because when you giggle on the middle of a bus some people stare at you like you just declared your love for Cthulhu. But anyway, I digress, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: What's white and sits in a tree? A fridge sitting in a tree. What's blue and white and sits in a tree? A fridge in a denim jacket... sitting in a tree. What's 5'4, 18 years old, thinks she's absolutely hilarious and wrote this fic and does not own Harry Potter in any way and sits in a tree? ME! M.T LINSHAW... sitting in a tree.

Disclaimer #2: My friend's mum told me the first two jokes about a fridge sitting in a tree and I honestly pissed my pants. (Not 'honestly' ew. But yeah I found it funny) So yeah, please don't sue me, friend's-mum.

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The women stopped their conversation and turned towards them. The woman in green strode towards them telling the other to "get a trolley" as she went. Remus and Sirius carefully laid Severus down on the floor, his breaths were horribly shallow and uneven and Remus held his own in concern that Severus' heart would stop again. The woman in green knelt down next to Severus on the floor and held two fingers to his neck. She asked them for his name and Sirius who had knelt on Severus' other side, told her that it was "Severus". The woman leant over, and gently shook Severus' shoulder.

"Severus?" She said, "Severus can you hear me, sweetheart?" Remus made eye contact with Sirius who was smirking slightly at Severus being addressed as 'sweetheart'. Severus opened his eyes slowly.

"I can… hear you" he said after a moment, his eyes narrowing.

"Good, good." She said with a smile, "Just hang on in there for me, darling and they'll get you sorted out." She stood as a voice came from a little black radio hanging from her pocket, saying a random trail of words like "Romeo" and "Umbrella". Remus had thought that the Muggles would find them strange, but after being in the Muggle world for less than 5 minutes he found himself perplexed at _their_ way of life. Soon the dark haired woman was back with a bed on wheels and a middle aged man with greying hair. He crouched down and lifted the hem of Severus' bloody shirt to see the wound beneath it. It was bright and red and held great comparison to the pale skin of his stomach. Severus didn't seem to be able to stay conscious or unconscious for more than a few seconds at a time and so drifted between the two. Remus and Sirius were pushed out of the way as some faceless men and women lifted Severus onto the bed with wheels and started to move it down a corridor. They began to follow but the dark haired woman stopped them in their tracks.

"Sorry," she said, "I just need some details about your… I'm sorry how do you know the patient?" Suggestions swam through Remus' mind quickly. What could they say? Fellow member of the magical resistance group the Order of the Phoenix? Friend? Neighbour?

"He's our brother," Sirius answered for him. The woman smiled and nodded in acceptance.

"Wonderful. I'll need your brother's name then." She said.

"Severus, Severus...Sidney" Remus replied. Sirius gave him a look of bewilderment and Remus shrugged almost inconceivably. They needed to give a fake surname at least, Remus surmised. For they couldn't have any _unfavourable_ characters discovering Severus' presence in a Muggle hospital of all places.

"And Severus' date of birth?" Remus' breath hitched at this question. He looked at Sirius whose eyes were wide. They didn't know the answer to that question. It had never come up in conversation. He was 35, probably and that was all they knew. Remus realised they'd still not given the woman an answer after thinking in frantic silence for more than a few moments. He cleared his throat.

"The 25th July 1960" He said, uttering the first date that came into his mind. The woman stalled,

"Today?"

"...Yes" Remus replied. "It hasn't been a very good birthday" Sirius added

Other questions were posed like what was Severus' address (which they managed to also make up remarkably well), whether he was allergic to anything (Sirius said no and Remus silently prayed it was right), and what had happened to him, for which Sirius spun a tale of a night-time intruder trying to steal their possessions. Sirius had, in a moment of utter chivalry confronted the intruder and sent him away but not before Severus had been stabbed with a knife for apparently making the situation worse with a sarcastic comment. Remus had wanted to simply say he'd been stabbed by an intruder and left it at that, but Sirius insisted on including interesting similes and pieces of dialogue, which Remus was certain were unnecessary. The woman appeared content enough with their answers however and they soon were sent on their way to find Severus.

"My God I hope he's not allergic to anything." Sirius said as they walked down a corridor.

"We'll ask him as soon as we're able," Remus replied. They turned a corner, past a drunken man vomiting onto the floor and into a room with swinging doors. Severus was lying, once again shirtless, with some sort of oxygen mask attached to his face. His eyes flitted from one person to another, following their movements and showing no emotion whatsoever. The man with the greying hair was ordering people around, asking them to fetch things that Remus had not heard and frankly did not like the sound of. Finally the man leaned over Severus, looking him in the eyes.

"Severus, my name is Dr Roberts and you're in the hospital. You've been stabbed and we're just trying to assess the extent of your injuries" He said in an old and aging voice. Severus replied with something incoherent. Remus and Sirius continued to watch, unmoving as the people attached him to various wires and inserted pointed needles into his arms. All of it looking rather terrifying from Remus' point of view. It was much simpler at St. Mungo's; they just casted spells and poured potions down your throat and that was that. Here they were stabbing Severus even more than he had been already. At least Death Eaters wouldn't find them here, though. They wouldn't dirty their boots in a Muggle hospital.

"We'll need to inform Dumbledore of what's happening," Sirius said under his breath quite suddenly. Remus closed his eyes, he'd forgotten about that. He discreetly took his wand from Sirius' pocket, stowing it in his own and set about finding a way to contact the headmaster. He fleetingly wondered how the Muggles contacted each other. They didn't use owls, he knew that. And they definitely didn't use the Patronus charm. They used their fire places for warming purposes. How on Earth did they contact each other? Deep in thought Remus walked briskly past the dark haired woman at the reception desk who was speaking into a long black brick. He made his way towards the alley to which they had just apparated, almost running the last few metres. He took out his wand and cast the patronus charm.

"Take this to Albus Dumbledore:" He told it, "Severus' heart stopped again. We managed to restart it but it took longer this time. We were worried we couldn't give him the aid he needed for his recuperation so we've taken him to…"_ Merlin's beard, what was the name of the hospital?_ Remus quickly turned back to the hospital and saw the name St. Mary's Hospital written across the building, "- St. Mary's hospital. It's Muggle and no sign of any Death Eaters." He finished and the patronus bounded off in a silver blur to deliver his message. He sighed with relief and made his way back through the hospital, past many more drunk people to Severus and Sirius. When he arrived, Sirius was sitting in a blue plastic, uncomfortable-looking chair. The mask on Severus' face had been replaced with a sort of clear plastic wire thing going into his nose. It looked rather bizarre. The stab wound had been rebandaged over. He caught Severus' eye as he walked into the room.

"What's that in your nose?" He asked him, as he sat down on another one of the nearby plastic chairs and wondered vaguely why everything was plastic.

"It gives him air," Sirius replied for Severus in a tone that suggested that he was very anxious indeed. "They're saying he needs something called surgery, Remus. What the Hell is that?" Remus blinked. He had no idea what it was. That was worrying.

"Didn't you ask them, Sirius? Doesn't Severus know?"

"What if it's one of those medi-senses? A really common one? They'd think I was stupid for asking. And Snape isn't saying anything at all, I doubt he even knows where he is. It's like he's been given veritaserum." Severus looked back at Severus. His eyes were staring into the distance, glassy and unresponsive. Remus stood and walked over to Severus' other side and clicked his fingers in front of his face. Severus blinked and gazed up at him in mild consideration.

"Why are you clicking?" He asked in a slurred voice.

"Are you aware of what's happening to you?" Remus asked him.

"Vaguely" Was his reply.

"You're in a Muggle hospital." Sirius said in a very hushed tone, leaning towards him.

"Do you know what surgery means?" Severus considered the question for a few moments. "I've no idea" He replied. He looked down at the wires protruding his arm and reached his hand up to touch one tentatively.

"What's this?" He asked. Remus crouched down next to him, leaning on the side of the bed and held Severus' arm in his hand to get a closer look. It led to a bag of fluid that was hanging on a pole next to Severus' bed and that fluid was entering the vein in his arm through the wire. It looked very complex.

"I've no idea" Remus said, repeating Severus' earlier words. Suddenly Dr Roberts, the man with greying hair re-entered the room and offered Remus a toothy smile. "You must be the other brother," He said to him, Remus nodded hesitantly. It was a much better alibi than "fellow resistance group member" so it was adequate enough for him. "There appears to be some internal damage caused by the knife wound, specifically affecting Severus' respiratory system. We're going to need to send him down to surgery preferably as soon as possible." Remus nodded, bewildered. They were sending him "down to Surgery". So Surgery was a place? Would they be able to go with him? He voiced his query to the Doctor.

"Not unless you're a surgeon" Dr Roberts replied laughing as he exited the room to deal with a rather angry man who appeared to have broken his arm. Remus spared a glance at Sirius who had stood and was protectively grasping Severus' arm. Severus' eyes were narrowed and contemplative as he seemed to consider what Dr Roberts had just said. Death Eaters couldn't be surgeons could they?

"We can't let them take him somewhere without us, Remus. We don't even know what they'll do, there!" Sirius said. Remus agreed. Merlin this was complicated. It was like nothing wanted Severus to live. They needed Dumbledore, he'd know what to do. Suddenly it occurred to Remus that they hadn't asked Severus if he was allergic to anything. He asked him and Severus shook his head slowly. He and Sirius both breathed out simultaneous sighs of relief.

"We need to find out more about this Surgery. They'll tell us what will happen there, if we ask." Remus said wearily.

"Dumbledore… might know" said Severus. That was a point, Remus thought. Dumbledore _might _know. Remus stood to go back out to the alley and send another patronus to the headmaster when Sirius stuck his hand out and held Remus' arm, stopping him in his tracks.

"Just contact him from here," Sirius said, "if they come to take him while you're gone, I'll find it hard to stop them on my own. Everyone's too focused on their ailments, they won't notice your patronus." Remus looked around them and reluctantly cast a patronus, there in the room.

"Take this to Albus Dumbledore:" he repeated, "The Muggle healers want to take Severus to Surgery. They won't let us go with him. We need your help." The patronus jumped through a window and whisked off with his message. For the next few minutes the two and a half men (for Severus was once more drifting in and out of consciousness) contemplated what or where this Surgery was. After a while Dumbledore walked in with long steps. He'd made a hasty attempt with Muggle clothing, it would seem. His expression was grave and earnest.

"I'm sure I just gave some Muggles the shock of their life when I walked out of their fireplace." He said.

"Dumbledore, what is Surgery?" Remus asked impatiently.

"I believe it's when the Muggle healers – doctors, cut people open in order to heal whatever is wrong internally. You wouldn't be able to be with Severus while it happened because it would be very unhygienic." Dumbledore explained. He continued, "I've had no luck in the 45 minutes or so that I've been looking for an antidote. It was good thinking to bring him here, although…"he paused as he observed the sleeping Severus on the bed, "that's rather a lot of wires."

"They might be able to fix his heart?" Remus asked, "The Muggle healer said they were concerned about his respiratory system," he mused, mostly to himself

"I would suggest that we allow them to give him this surgery." Said Dumbledore slowly. "It will do him more good than we are able to, and therefore I see no real problem. Severus won't like it. But then I think we all know that Severus doesn't particularly like a lot of things."  
The doors swung open and in walked Dr Roberts, who paused momentarily at the sight of Dumbledore's long hair and beard before carrying on as normal to Severus' bedside and checking the various wires and beeping implements that were attached to him.

"Severus will be taken down to surgery soon. He's high priority so it'll be as soon as a surgeon is free." He told them. As he continued to check over Severus and poke around at various parts of his body and shine something in his eyes, Dumbledore, Remus and Sirius took it upon themselves to ask every question that came to mind about the surgery. How long it would take. How successful it would be. Whether it would fix everything. Et cetera. After getting some answers, Remus felt marginally happier with the whole thing. A Muggle woman who introduced herself as "Leah the Nurse" entered the room carrying a white and blue checked bundle in her arms. She was middle aged and thin with long dirty blonde hair. She smiled brightly at them all as she walked past and up to Severus on the bed. As she detached the many wires and hooks, she explained to him that she was preparing him for surgery, as he couldn't wear his normal clothes and would have to wear a gown. Remus doubted very highly that he'd heard a word she'd said to him as he was still unconscious but it was nice, he felt, that she'd taken he time to do that as he knew that he, and judging from the look on Sirius' face would have had no idea what she was doing otherwise.

As Leah manoeuvred his arms into the gown, she noticed the Dark Mark on Severus' left forearm. She stopped to observe it and Remus held his breath praying that they didn't know what it was in the Muggle world.

"That's an interesting tattoo," she said. "Is it symbolic or something?" Remus would have laughed. It was very symbolic. It symbolised a lot of interesting things: Blood purity, ownership, murder.

"He got it when he was very young," Dumbledore told her, "I think he dearly regrets it now. It causes him a lot of inconvenience." Remus found himself smirking at the truth in Dumbledore's words. It was good that Dumbledore had interjected so quickly. If it had been left to him or Sirius it would have been entirely different. Something about a drunken night out in Ayia Napa. Leah smiled sweetly at him, and moved to Severus' feet, undoing his boots and laying them on the floor.

"I think it's very nice" she said and Remus considered her definition of 'nice'. "He'll have to tell me more about it when he wakes up." She undid his blood stained belt and laid it with the shoe at the foot of the bed before carefully removing Severus' trousers. Remus politely looked away as she did that, noticing that neither Dumbledore nor Sirius did the same.

Sirius snorted and said, "at least he's bought some better boxers since the last time I saw them." Remus turned his eyes back onto Severus, just as Leah was pulling a blanket over him. He seemed to look a lot worse even than he had earlier when Remus thought he couldn't possible look any worse. His skin was as white as the blankets and sheets that covered him and without any breathing apparatus to help him, his breaths rasped worryingly. One might be gladdened that he at least for now slept but Remus noted that it was not a peaceful slumber, it was instead restless. Severus' head lolled from side to side and his brow was furrowed in pain. No, he did not look well in the slightest and Remus hoped that if the Muggles couldn't fix him, that Dumbledore would find him help quickly. The nurse lifted Severus' head and put an oxygen mask on him and left the room with Dr Roberts who told them he'd be back to take Severus to surgery in due course.

They all three sat themselves on those annoying little blue plastic chairs and conversed lightly for a few minutes. Dumbledore informed them of his newly found love of Muggle horror literature and about an American author named Stephen King. They then discussed the new Quidditch team players; Sirius: very enthusiastically, Remus: less enthusiastically. But before long their talk was turned back to the matter at hand. Severus' position as a spy was still up in the air and his safety worried them all greatly. Of course the events of the night were still a very grey area and it would not do to dwell on it for too long, as Dumbledore pointed out to them. Remus still couldn't help but concern himself with it, however, one couldn't help but, when the man in question was lying in front of them half dead.

Soon enough, Dr Roberts returned to the room with, what Remus assumed was a surgeon, in tow. He was a balding man with glasses perched on the end of his nose and a bright smile on his face. His eyes reminded Remus of Dumbledore's, twinkling brightly behind his glasses. He was introduced by Dr Roberts as Mr Singh, and Severus was introduced to him as "Mr Snape" until Dumbledore hastily corrected him that it was _Professor_ Snape.

They wheeled Severus out of the room then and Dumbledore marvelled at the usefulness of it all. Sirius stayed behind after being told that he could, and got chatting with Leah about a Muggle rock band that Remus had never heard of. Remus intended to go with them as far as he would be permitted and Dumbledore walked alongside him with the same intentions. It was a long walk, through many different corridors and up something called a 'lift' before they finally reached their destination. Severus by this time had awoken and was groggily looking from side to side, trying to work out what was happening. Dumbledore, upon noticing this, reached down and held his hand, patting it softly and telling him what was happening.

"You'll just go to sleep and they'll sort you out and we can forget any of tonight ever happened and you can go back to scaring innocent Hufflepuffs and fellow teachers alike." Dumbledore told him. Although Remus could clearly see the fear that was playing in his eyes as he said it as if he couldn't entirely believe his own words. And neither, apparently could Severus; he shook his head softly and whispered "Thank you." Dumbledore shook his head too and bent down next to Severus and said so quietly that only he and Remus could hear him,

"Why, you've nothing to thank me for, Severus," before he patted his hand one more time and walked out of the room. Remus stepped closer to Severus, feeling like he should probably say something to the man and bent down next to him in a manner mirroring Dumbledore's just seconds previously.

"I hope you make it through this, Snape," he said seriously, and Severus' eyes found his in a moment of acceptance. Remus continued "Sirius fixed your shirt and threw my cloak away – you still owe me a new one." Severus closed his eyes in realisation and laughed. Remus took his hand and patted it, just like Dumbledore had done and walked out of the room smiling. It was then that he realised that that had been the first time he'd ever witnessed the man laughing. Even when they'd taught together for a year he'd never witnessed it, but now on his possible death bed Severus had laughed. Remus didn't know whether to laugh too or cry that he'd been probably one of the only people to witness it.

He found Dumbledore and they walked back in silence, side by side down the bright corridor of the hospital. As they entered the 'lift' Dumbledore pressed all of the buttons and remarked on how fascinating Muggle culture was. Remus didn't join him in conversation. His mind could only consider the fate of the man they'd just left. His life was in the hands of the people they were fighting to protect. He hoped they'd do him justice. They finally reached Severus' hospital room, to find Sirius reading a Muggle newspaper with avid attention. He looked up at them as they entered.

"Has he…?"

"Yeah," Remus answered him before he'd finished his question. Sinking down onto the plastic chair and rubbing his eyes once again. It was strange how his tiredness seemed to come and go like it did, it was probably because he'd been distracted but now it seemed to greet him with full force. Dumbledore suggested he try and get some sleep on one of the more cushioned chairs in the waiting area and Remus could only obey him. His last morsel of strength seemed to have deserted him and now all he could think of was sleep. He told Dumbledore to collect him as soon as Severus had returned before going off in search of somewhere to sleep for a few hours. He found a comfortable-ish looking chair in the waiting room like Dumbledore had suggested and knew that it would be enough to give him some rest-bite. He settled down and before he knew it he was sound asleep.

It felt like he had only just closed his eyes when he felt someone shaking him on the shoulder gently and a voice calling his name. He opened his eyes groggily and tried to collect his bearings. Dumbledore was sitting on the chair next to him.

"Severus has returned." He told him quietly.

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I noticed some naughty, sneaky little typos and grammatical errors in this fic so I'm sorting out as many as I can. Sorry about that. If you see anything let me know. Also if you're enjoying this then, reviews would be fantastic. Likewise if you're not so much enjoying it, reviews can help me improve it. Thank youuu!


	7. Chapter 6: Shut up, Snape

I'm back! Hello readers! Thank you to all reviewers and favouriters and followers and PM-ers, I love you all to infinity and beyond.

Disclaimer: It's the middle of a night. A loud crash by your bedroom door awakens you. You sit up, flustered and fumble in the bed quilts for your mobile phone. You find it and shine its light at the door but find nothing. You lie back down, for it was most likely a dream. Yes, most likely a dream. You're slipping back to sleep when BANG! Another crash sounds itself once more on the other side of the room. You're worried now. This was weird. You grope for the switch of your bedside lamp and turn it on. You gasp in horror as you see writing covering your bedroom walls. "M.T Linshaw does not own Harry Potter" it says. Over and over and over again.

* * *

"Severus has returned." He told him quietly.

"And?" Remus replied. Dumbledore rose and slowly shook his head before walking off towards Severus' hospital room. Remus stood quickly, immediately regretting it as his head swam with giddiness and followed him at a run. He hoped it had gone well. When they entered Severus' room, Remus understood why. Severus was back, lying on the bed as if he had never left. His eyes were cracked half open and he still looked like death, to put it mildly. Leah was busy attaching even more wires and beeping implements to him. Remus glanced at Sirius, who stood with an anxious expression on his face.

"Apparently he 'crashed' while he was having the surgery." Sirius said. Upon seeing Remus' confused reaction he expanded, "His heart stopped. They had to revive him." Remus' own heart felt like it had sank right into his stomach. After a minute or so when Leah had finished hooking Severus to things and had left with a polite smile and an awkward scuttle out through the doors, Remus neared Severus and asked "how're you feeling?" to which his reply was, "like my heart keeps stopping… due to an evil potion… you?"

"I shall have to be kept in touch," Dumbledore said gravely from the corner of the room, "it would appear that I still have an antidote to create." And without as much as a glance at Remus, Sirius or even Severus, Dumbledore disapparated from the room. Sirius, Remus noticed was staring wide-eyed at something across the room, Remus ignored him and looked back at Severus, who also had his gaze fixed unmoving on the same spot on the other side of the room. That was odd. Remus turned and to his horror, a young man with short blonde hair and his whole body in a plaster cast was staring back at them looking like he'd just witnessed a very old bearded man disappearing on the spot. Remus smiled at him awkwardly and moved his hand to Sirius' back, guiding him to turn back towards Severus and effectively blocking the young Muggle's view of him.

"Well that was a pretty stupid move of dear old Dumbledore, if I don't say so myself." Sirius hissed. "He's angry," Remus replied.

"Yes and now that Muggle's looking at us like we've just slaughtered a goat." Sirius shot back. Remus hesitantly turned his head back to the Muggle on the other side of the room. He was still staring at them in abstract horror. Remus once again smiled awkwardly before turning back to his two companions.

"He's probably in a lot of pain. No one will believe his words if he tells them what he saw," Remus said, trying to reason with Sirius who was becoming slightly frantic. Suddenly Severus clenched his eyes shut and hissed in pain. Remus and Sirius, mirroring each other's actions leant over him, worriedly asking him what was wrong. Severus shook his head and slowly reopened his eyes, letting go of a breath he'd apparently been holding.

"A fire whiskey… I'd welcome that… right now" He said, "everything hurts." Sirius lifted Severus' gown up, looking at the wound. Luckily, three or four sheets and blankets were still in place to preserve Severus' dignity down below, but that didn't stop Severus from protesting Sirius' actions with feeble hands.

"What?" Sirius asked defensively, "I was merely seeing if they'd at least managed to fix _that_!" Severus' stomach was an array of bandages and where the skin was bare, it was dark blue bruising. Sirius scrunched up his face in sympathy before replacing the gown and pulling a nearby chair closer to Severus' bed. "We should never have come here," he said, his head in his hands. Remus begged to differ. He couldn't help but feel that there might still be hope yet. Dumbledore might still get them some help. _Magical_ help. The Muggle doctors might have another trick up their sleeves. It was a long shot but it was there all the same. He'd have to look into these Muggle medi-senses and see what they could do. Luckily for Severus, Remus contemplated, he had not been struck with an _avada kedavra_. That at least left him with something to cling onto.

"Shouldn't worry… about me… it's too much." Severus whispered after a few moments of silence.

"What do you mean by that?" Remus replied, both curious and concerned. Severus shook his head, frustrated and closed his eyes. "It's unlikely… I'll survive this…" Severus paused, "The Dark Lord… is of more import… than me" Severus' eyes opened once more, glimmering as they stared into Remus' own, and Remus felt for a moment as if they could see into his soul itself. Images passed before his mind's eye, a jumble of images, unrelated to each other and moving so quickly that Remus could hardly even interpret their blur anyway. He stared back at Severus confusedly and looked on as Severus sighed in annoyance. Severus had tried to communicate with him and clearly it had failed to work as he'd intended. He weakly grabbed the front of Remus' shirt and pulled himself up until he was half sitting, his mouth right next to Remus' ear.

"Lupin," He whispered, low and deep, "just go… I'm fine," As the realisation dawned on him, Remus found himself growing angry. "No" he said loudly, ripping Severus' hands from his shirt and lowering him back onto the bed, "we're not leaving you, Severus" he said softly, "we won't abandon you, not when you've been attacked in the line of duty. We're in this together. This war is not just Voldemort's and it is not just Dumbledore's. It involves us _all_." Severus opened his mouth to interject and Remus continued before he could say anything, "if I left you here, and you died…" Remus stopped. He knew how he would feel if he left Severus to die. He'd never forgive himself. No matter how badly he had previously thought of him, those thoughts were no longer present in his mind. No man- no _good_ man should be abandoned to a painful death. He stared at Severus who stared back with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Sirius, do you think we can get food here?" Remus asked, turning to his friend, suddenly feeling very hungry.

"Perhaps," Sirius replied, glancing around the room as if food might appear in front of them. Before they could ponder over it any further, Leah re-entered the room smiling jovially as she walked up to them. She lifted Severus' hand and held two fingers to his wrist, whilst keeping her eyes on the clock on the wall.

"How much pain are you in?" She asked Severus, "1, being just a little like a pinch on the arm, 10 being complete and utter agony like a paper cut perhaps." Severus regarded her for a moment, his eyes sceptical. "5," he said hesitantly. The nurse' eye brows raised, disbelieving. "Oh, really?" she said with a laugh, "I would've guessed at least 8 or 9, considering. You must have a really high pain threshold. I'll put some pain killer in your cannula just to be on the safe side." She attached a thick wire onto the end of a needle, which was protruding Severus' wrist and smiled at him as she fiddled with various bits and pieces around him.

As she finished she told Remus and Sirius to inform someone straight away if Severus' breathing became irregular or stopped, or the beeping of one of the 'machines' (and Remus could not remember which) changed in any way. Sirius told her that they would without delay and the nurse, seemingly happy, went to check on the broken legged Muggle who kept staring at them fearfully. There was a woman with him now, Remus noted and she too kept turning and looking at them like they were werewolves or something. Remus laughed inwardly. It was a bad simile. But never-the-less they both seemed quite wary.

Sirius went off in search of something for them to eat and Remus sat down close to Severus and picked up the newspaper that Sirius had been previously reading from nearby. He stared at the pictures on the front page for a while, observing how it didn't move. How quaint it was to see people just standing frozen in the same position like they had all been petrified. He pointed it out to Severus who glanced at it for a moment before looking away again, uncaring. Remus opened it and promptly closed it again, taken aback by the sight that had presented itself to him.

"What?" Severus asked, upon seeing Remus' expression. "It's not the Dark Lord, is it?" Remus paused in thought and for a second he wished it _had_ been the Dark Lord. No wonder Sirius had been studying it so avidly earlier on.*

"It's nothing Severus, don't worry." Remus replied, with a cough. Severus studied him for a second with a sceptical look upon his face. "Let me see," he said, gesturing with his hand. Remus regarded him, intent on refusal, but Severus did not give up – his weak arm remained there stretched out until Remus passed it over reluctantly. Severus opened the paper to the third page, the page Remus had been on and looked at it, his face showing no emotion.

Not taking his eyes off the page he said, "Has she died or something?"

"Remus, take that filth away from him, you'll cause his heart to stop again." said Sirius, as he walked back into the room with sandwiches in plastic containers in his hands. Severus still hadn't looked away from the page, his eyes narrowed as he seemed to be trying to work out why it was there. Sirius stood next to him, looking down at the page as well.

"She has a very pretty face, doesn't she" he remarked. "Yes…" Severus replied. Remus stood with a sigh and joined the other two men in observing the newspaper. The woman, in truth wasn't very pretty at all. She just had her breasts out for all to see which, confused Remus slightly. It was just there for no apparent reason. A naked young Muggle woman standing unmoving with a small, apparently unrelated story next to it. Not that anyone would ever notice the story, Remus supposed. It was difficult to take his eyes off the woman. She was tantalising with her teasing eyes and delicate features. She could only be there for the pleasure of men, Remus surmised. It was quite sad really, that she was just there to be objectified.

The trio spent the rest of the day in lethargy. The sandwiches that Sirius had managed to filch from the hospital canteen were eaten greedily, although not by Severus, one must acknowledge who upon being offered a cheese sandwich, accepted it, took a bite and immediately looked as though he might be sick. It was then unanimously decided that he should avoid food for the time being. This decision was further strengthened by the discovery that Severus was supposed to remain 'nil by mouth' until further notice.

They read the rest of the newspaper, observing its strange unmoving photographs with unease and learning about equally as strange Muggle politicians and singers and people called 'actors' who appeared on the television. And it was all very enlightening. Remus had found himself positively transfixed by the goings on in some sort of Muggle borough of London called Walford**. He couldn't particularly understand why anybody would choose to live there with the amount of crime and murder that apparently occurred but it was highly intriguing nonetheless. Yes, these Muggles lived very strange lives, indeed. As they approached the end of the day, a small, white haired man administered some more of the medi-sense into the cannula on Severus' wrist, which Remus promptly decided he appreciated, just as much as Severus likely did as it normally sent him quickly to sleep. And even when it didn't he was as stoned as a mule. This time, Severus fell into unconsciousness and Sirius and Remus quickly followed by his example.

A few hours later when Remus awoke, he almost jumped out of his chair, startled by the sight of Dumbledore sitting next to him and talking softly to a still sleeping Severus. When he noticed Remus watching him he jumped too, just as startled.

"I'm so sorry, Remus I didn't wish to wake you," he said and he paused as if in consideration of how to say something, "I've received some news." He said after a moment. Remus sat straighter in his chair. Dumbledore's face was serious and expressionless and Remus could see the older man's every worry etched into its lines.

"Harry's at Grimmauld Place with the Weasley family and Miss Granger. There was some sort of Dementor attack in Little Whinging and Harry apparently casted the patronus charm to fend them off. There's going to be a trial at the ministry." Remus sat silently, utterly speechless trying to comprehend what he had just heard. To say he was shocked would have been an understatement. He glanced over at Sirius who was snoring softly in his chair and internally rolled his eyes as he imagine his reaction.

"This isn't because we left, is it?" Remus asked carefully. Good God he'd never forgive himself if it was. He doubted Severus would be particularly happy about it either. For as much as Remus knew how little Severus and Harry got on, he also knew how many times Severus had saved Harry's life. He knew their actions were unavoidable but that didn't stop the guilt from rising inside of him all the same.

"No, no. It was this afternoon at around six. You've nothing to worry about." Dumbledore answered him, and Remus was surprised to find that the relief didn't wash over him as he might have expected it to. "Mundungus Fletcher was on duty and felt the need to be elsewhere, it would seem." Dumbledore continued, although Remus wasn't particularly listening. It suddenly occurred to him that Dumbledore had previously said "Dementor attack", and that Little Whinging wasn't anywhere near Azkaban, it was in Surrey!

"What were dementors doing in Surrey?"

"My thoughts exactly, Remus my thoughts exactly. It has Voldemort written all over it." Remus flinched at the name subconsciously and looked around warily, as if someone might have heard them and have flown into a frenzy before he realised that they were in a Muggle hospital and internally chastised himself for being overly paranoid. Dumbledore's gaze travelled back to the man in the hospital bed and he patted his lifeless hand.

"Has Severus' condition improved at all?" He asked and Remus shook his head sadly.

"Alas, I thought not."

"He's no longer losing blood from his stab wound," Remus continued optimistically, "but his breathing has not improved." Dumbledore silently lifted Severus' hospital gown and studied the wound beneath it. It looked much the same as it had earlier; bandages still covered most of the man's abdomen and there was a substantial amount of bruising where the bandages were absent. Remus laughed silently. He'd seen more of Severus in the past 24 hours than he had in the entire 20 or so years that they'd known each other.

"I have spoken with everyone I could think of, regarding this potion and the creation of an antidote." Dumbledore explained gravely, lowering the gown. "I even went to old Horace Slughorn in the hopes that he might know something, but alas he did not. He did, however after gentle persuasion, agree to return to Hogwarts as potions master, should the need occur." Remus swallowed. This was a vast contrast to the Dumbledore he'd observed earlier – telling Severus he'd be back to normal in no time. Now he was arranging a replacement potions professor. He abruptly changed the subject albeit not to a happy one.

"Is Harry not wondering why his Godfather is absent from Grimmauld Place?"

"I should imagine he is, although I must admit I haven't seen him since I heard"

"He probably thinks he's back in Azkaban, or worse."

"What's wrong with Harry?" Remus turned to find Sirius groggily rubbing his eyes and bending his neck painfully from side to side as he rose from his sleep. Remus reluctantly relayed Dumbledore's news to his friend and watched as his expression changed from confusion to anger to outright concern one after the other after the other.

"I should probably see him," he said once Remus had finished, glancing from Severus to Remus and back again as he did, "he'll need someone there for him,"

"He does have the Weasleys" Dumbledore replied

"I don't care if he has Beedle the fucking Bard," Sirius replied, his voice raising in anger, "I want to be with him." There was a rustling on the bed and Remus looked over to find a bewildered looking Severus, squinting at Sirius, his eyes unaccustomed to the artificial lighting of the room. "Who's doing what… to Beedle the Bard?" He asked after a moment and Remus once again found himself relaying Dumbledore's news, hoping that Severus would consider Sirius' current state of mind and wouldn't make some snarky remark about Harry being reckless or foolish. However it would have seemed he had had no need to hope as Severus simply considered what he'd said in silence for a moment after Remus had finished, his brow furrowed in thought.

"Why were the dementors… not at Azkaban?" Severus asked slowly. Upon hearing this, Sirius' anger seemed to temporarily fade away, if only a little bit as he waited for Dumbledore to answer.

"As I said to Remus earlier, it would appear that the Ministry does not hold as much control over the dementors as they imagine they do. And Voldemort has gained their support. Either that or it was an attack ordered by the Ministry, although I can't quite work out why that would occur."

"Harry needs me. I just need to see that he's okay." Sirius said, relatively calmly.

"And I'm not stopping you. I was merely stating that he's with the Weasleys. I'm sure Molly is fussing over him as we speak." Remus glanced at the clock on the wall and noted that the time was 4.30 in the morning. He wouldn't have been surprised if Molly Weasley _was_ fussing over Harry as they spoke.

"You should both go," said Severus from his bed, "Potter will need you… more than me." Remus sighed. Not this again.

"We've been over this, Severus" Remus replied, "I'm not leaving you on your own."

"Potter's more important… to the cause" Severus returned. Dumbledore looked at him with sad eyes and asked,

"Is that what you think, Severus? That your life's worth depends on your role in defeating Voldemort? Surely you know that that is not true. And even if it were, you're much too important to allow you to be alone as you suffer." Severus closed his eyes, frustrated. "Pawns must be sacrificed… to save the king." He said

Sirius laughed. "Shut up, Snape you're not a pawn. You're more of a bishop. Perhaps a rook." Remus rolled his eyes in exasperation. "You're not helping, Sirius." Sirius apologised with another laugh. After a few minutes they managed to decide that Sirius would return to Grimmauld Place for a few hours, later in the day to ensure that Harry was okay, and to allow his Godson to see that he too was okay. From there they would act as they saw fit.

Severus had by this time once again succumbed to sleep and lay unmoving on the bed. Dumbledore kept hold of his hand and stroked it concernedly, as Remus looked on. His worry for the man had grown substantially. His energy was waning and he appeared to be in a great deal more pain than the day before. He could hardly even blink without wincing at the agony that the movement seemed to cause to his chest.

Dumbledore once again left them soon after, although fortunately this time he simply walked through the doors instead of disapparating on the spot as he had done previously to the poor Muggle's chagrin, who Remus observed still granted them with untrusting looks every so often. And Remus continued to return each of them with an awkward smile. Soon after Dumbledore's departure, Sirius left too with the promise that he'd be back in a few hours and so Remus was left with Severus, who still slept.

* * *

I'm not so sure how well known some of the things I referenced in this chapter would be for non-British people so -

*On page three of the tabloid newspaper "The Sun", naked women appear with a tiny little unrelated story next to it. The women are called 'page three girls' (original right?) and often go on reality TV shows claiming to be celebrities. It's all a bit bizarre in my opinion.

**Walford, London is the setting for the British soap opera Eastenders. It's avid viewing - everyone just gets murdered.

Was the characterisation okay in this chapter? Were the events suitably eventful? I'm perpetually doubting myself. Please let me know if it was bad, likewise if it was good. You'll make me smile like a maniac on the bus or something and people will look at me **but it will be worth it.**

I'll be back again in like... ooh I don't know... a week or so most likely.


	8. Chapter 7: You're Not My Friend, Snape

I sincerely apologise for the delay in this update. This chapter has been the absolute bane of my life. It has literally gone through like 3 or 4 complete rewrites. I loved writing it a lot though. It was sort of like a son who does drugs and stuff and you're like 'I LOVE YOU SO MUCH BUT STOP GETTING ON MY NERVES!" So yeah if there are any problems with this please let me know and I'll give it some sort of edit. I'm still not totally ecstatic with it if I'm honest but it's much better than it was.

Disclaimer:

Once upon a time, there was a little bunny called Gary. He lived in a castle all on his own and was very lonely. "Oh how I wish I wasn't so lonely." He said sadly. Suddenly there was a knock on his door. He went to answer it, intrigued. No one ever came to visit him. How exciting. The door opened to reveal a man dressed in a black suit and sun glasses. "Are you here to become my friend?" Gary asked the man. "Oh God no." The man replied "I'm here to tell you that Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling and not MT Linshaw. Why would I want to be friends with a dweeb like you." Gary cried. He was very sad. But at least he knew that JK Rowling owns Harry Potter and not MT Linshaw.

* * *

Remus Lupin could not particularly recall any other time that he and Severus Snape had been left solely in the presence of each other for any substantial period of time. In fact, Remus believed that this was the first. It was strange, he thought, how much they'd acquainted themselves with each other in the past twenty or so years and had never been alone together for more than a minute or so at a time. The day seemed to pass by at a snail's pace and Remus divided his time between obsessively watching the clock and obsessively watching over Severus' lifeless form to ensure that the man was still in the land of the living. The male nurse, who had not given them his name, came and went several times; inserting more needles and wires here and there and repeatedly checking Severus' pulse which, he informed Remus, was unsatisfactorily weak.

Mr Singh the surgeon visited them too to check on the state of Severus' stomach, and promptly joined the ever growing list of people who had lifted Severus' gown without his permission. At the sight of Severus' bandaged stomach and the healing wound beneath it, the surgeon's mouth curved into a contented smile as he marvelled at the lack of infection. Personally Remus did not particularly agree that this was anything to be remotely delighted about. Lack of infection was more of a necessity than a bonus he thought, but he smiled and nodded along with the surgeons regardless.

The surgeon, however was not so terribly happy about the continued decline of Severus' respiratory system. It was, in fact a cause for major concern. He told Remus that they would continue to monitor his 'brother' for the next day or so and if there hadn't been any notable improvement, they would take further action. Remus fleetingly wondered what the 'further action' would be, but the surgeon gave him no heed, deeming it too early to say at this stage of Severus' recovery process. Remus continued to live in hope that Dumbledore would find a way to help Severus very, very soon.

Severus himself was as much fun in his ailing state… well as he was in his healthy one. He wasn't often awake and when he was, he wasn't often lucid. He'd go from asking for the time, and Remus would tell him, to more worryingly asking where he was. When he told the nurse of his concerns, he told him that this was to be expected what with the amount of medication that Severus was currently on. It did nothing to alleviate Remus' worrying though. For Severus' body seemed to be working against him.

His breathing, even with the aid of the plastic nose wire thing, was laboured and shallow and his brow did not rest from furrowing at the immeasurable amount of pain he most likely was in. Remus remembered how his mother had used to tell him that if the wind changed in direction and he was pulling a face, that it would stay that way. However she had also told him that werewolves didn't like the taste of children, and he had the scars to disprove _that _so he couldn't be entirely certain about how much of what she had told him was true. He now knew that it was a simple old wives' tale to scare children into not doing the things that they most enjoyed doing, however he still couldn't help but worry that Severus' furrowed brow would remain so, should the wind change from eastwards to northwards.

Late in the afternoon, Sirius returned from his excursion to Grimmauld Place and Remus almost felt like he had never been gladder to see him. Perhaps not even when they returned to Hogwarts after having spent their summers apart when they were boys, had he been gladder. He couldn't even place why he felt so happy to see his friend. It wasn't particularly very much to do with the boredom that he might have felt while Severus slept because he had spent most of his time worrying that he was dead. When Sirius finally sat down though he looked solemn. The two men sat in silence for a little while, except for the beep-beeping of one of the little machines which monitored Severus' heart rate. The one which they had been told to inform someone of, if it happened to change.

"Harry seemed to think I was dead." Sirius said, rather matter-of-factly. Remus considered his words for a few moments before he carefully formulated what he felt might be an appropriate answer.

"What?" He replied.

"We neglected to tidy up after ourselves. I still sometimes forget that Kreacher is about as useful as a dead dormouse. But we'd left blood everywhere. Everyone was really rather upset about it. It covered the floor, it was on the kitchen table. Merlin it was even on the door!"

Remus momentarily wondered how Severus' blood could have got onto the kitchen door before the memory of propping Severus against it came flashing into his mind. "And if that weren't enough," Sirius paused to laugh a little manically, "that god forsaken portrait of my dear and wonderful mother wouldn't stop going on about how filthy blood traitors were bleeding to death and how we must all rejoice." Remus collected his thoughts. It was quite a lot to take in.

"What happened when you arrived?" Remus asked.

"To put it simply, it was bedlam. Molly Weasley was rather hysterical. Harry looked like he'd seen a ghost when I walked through the front door. Oh, here's your wand back by the way." He handed the thin black wand back to Remus, "Arthur Weasley was quite annoyed at me for not being there, and for scaring them all so much. Obviously I explained that I was fine. I told them that I'd been away due to something very important cropping up."

"How did you explain away the blood?" Remus asked.

"Oh, I couldn't lie about that. Not very _well_ anyway. I simply told them someone had arrived late the other night after having been attacked." Remus nodded silently. It was sufficient. He looked down at the wand in his hands. Turning the cool wood over and over. In their frenzy to get Severus to a Muggle hospital, the thought of tidying up after themselves had not at all entered his mind. Remus supposed that even if it _had _entered his mind, that they would not have stopped to clean the blood from the kitchen door. And it was difficult enough in the best of times to prevent the portrait of Mrs Black from screaming about blood traitors and the like. He deemed she would be downright _unstoppable_ when said blood traitors were three quarters dead and bleeding profusely.

"Oh and before I forget," Sirius interrupted his ponderings, "You're going to have to visit Grimmauld Place at some point in the near future. I couldn't persuade them that it wasn't you who had been attacked." Remus blinked in surprise. He hadn't been expecting that.

"I was quite shocked, really. I told them 'you _do_ know I have more than one friend who I'd be willing to risk my freedom for to bring them to safety.' They didn't seem to believe me though. Molly thinks you've had a _furry little accident"_

"I'm not your friend." Said Severus, frowning from his bed. Remus wished that the man would alert them when he woke up. It played havoc with his nerves.

"No you're not my friend, Snape. But the Weasley's don't have to know that." Sirius replied. In the next few minutes it was decided that Remus would go and visit Grimmauld Place that evening to show its current dwellers that he was indeed alive and well. He would need not visit for too long. Just for long enough to prove his lack of peril or injury.

He soon left Severus with Sirius, quietly wondering who would come off worse from being left in the other's company for a prolonged amount of time. With every step towards the main doors of the hospital he felt his heart beat with trepidation. He was severely apprehensive about going back to Grimmauld Place. Especially to try and explain away its terrifying state to his friends. He knew he was being silly, though. His heightened fears and concerns were inevitable, for he had not slept very much at all over the past few days what with the full moon being less than a week prior. Plus he hadn't eaten more than the plastic cased sandwich that Sirius had managed to get them yesterday. And that hadn't been the epitome of fine dining, to put it bluntly.

As he walked towards the alley where from he could apparate without shocking any more Muggles, a flash of white caught the corner of his eye. Remus froze in his tracks. He had a terrible feeling about this. He abruptly turned on his heel and walked briskly back to his companions. When he walked into the room Sirius was laughing at something and Severus' eyes were glimmering, and a smirk played upon his lips. They both looked up at him as he entered.

"That was quick!" Sirius said. Remus explained his worries and the flash of white. Even as he was talking to them, he knew his worries were ridiculous, for the white flash could have been _anything_. Sirius and Snape seemed to agree with him that his concerns were unfounded.

"It could have been anything at all!" Sirius told him, "No one but the three of us and Dumbledore know about our whereabouts. There's nothing to worry about."

Remus knew that Sirius was right, he had known it as he was almost running back to the hospital room. Merlin he needed a good night's sleep. And a meal or two. And a lack of Voldemort and his murderous followers.

A few minutes later Remus found himself yet again in the hallway of the Order of the Phoenix headquarters being embraced by not only Harry but by Molly and the four youngest Weasley children and Hermione Granger as well. He rather struggled to breathe as they all surrounded him.

"We were so worried, Professor Lupin!" Hermione said, as they finally all let go of him. "There was blood everywhere."

"Yeah, Lupin we're glad you're still alive." Said either Fred or George. Remus did not know which. Throughout the year of his teaching them, he had never addressed either boy directly.

Remus smiled and followed the members of his 'I'm-glad-you're-not-dead' club into the kitchen. As soon as he walked through the door memories of the other night's escapades flew into his mind and he shook his head trying to eradicate them. But the image of a lifeless Severus lying on the table in front of him as he and Sirius desperately tried to restart his heart would not abate. It was slightly overwhelming in all honesty.

Arthur was waiting for them in the kitchen, his hands leaning atop the table in a position mirroring Sirius' own two nights previously. Merlin's balls was this bizarre. With much disgruntled and annoyed protestations the younger Weasleys, Harry and Hermione were heralded out of the room for the adults to converse privately and after some threats of admonishment the children obeyed, although not without a few pats on the back and some enthusiastic congratulations on his continued survival.

"I'm glad to see you're well, Remus," Arthur said with a friendly smile, "it was terribly worrying. For all of us." Remus nodded in agreement. He could well imagine how it would have been to see it. Bloody hell, it had been stressful enough _experiencing _it.

"I'm so sorry to have frightened you like that," he told the pair, "it was all very spur of the moment and the only thing on my mind, and Sirius' too, was getting to a hospital."

"What happened, Remus? Why was there so much blood?" Molly asked. Remus paused, they both looked so highly concerned. This was order business, and yes they were not at a meeting right now but it was necessary for them to know. He doubted highly that they were behind the attack, in fact he knew categorically that they were not behind the attack, they'd never commit such a heinous act. The children, he could not trust to know what had happened, they would not take it well and besides that they were none of them, apart from Fred and George, old enough to become members of the Order of the Phoenix. Not even Harry, no matter what Padfoot said. He looked towards the door. It would not do to have anyone listening in on the conversation.

"Don't worry about any stray ears listening in," Molly reassured him kindly, "I've barred the door from listening devices ever since the twins created those ridiculous extendible ears"

Remus breathed a slight sigh of relief and turned back towards the pair. "Severus was attacked a couple of days ago with a knife down Privet Drive, the home of Harry's relatives. We've since discovered that the knife was laced with a potion called _The Draft of the Broken Heart_." At the combined blank faces of the Weasleys he continued, "It apparently causes its victim's heart to stop. Its effects we've seen plentifully."

Molly gave a small gasp. It was a lot to take in, Remus knew. It was worrying enough that Severus had been attacked, but the fact that his role as a spy was left to hang on the line made it even worse. All of them could be in danger. Not, he supposed, that they weren't already what with them all belonging to a resistance group led by the wizard Voldemort hated most of all. But yes it was rather worrying none-the-less.

"Is there an antidote?" Arthur asked gravely.

Remus shook his head sadly, "Dumbledore's talking to everyone he can think of to try and find a way to help Severus. Whether by creating an antidote or find something that can prolong the effects of the potion. But it's not looking promising.

"That is also one of the reasons why we took him to a Muggle hospital" Remus continued and Arthur's face lit up, intrigued. "They might have resources that we in the wizarding world do not."

"A Muggle hospital?" Molly replied, "Can they help there with that sort of thing?"

"Well they aren't fully aware of the full extenuating circumstances, no. But they might be able to help. They managed to fix his external injuries and that gives me some confidence that they'll fix his internal ones too."

They continued to discuss the ailing health of Severus for a few minutes more and upon Molly's offer, Remus decided that he would stay with them for tea. It was only polite, he reasoned to accept her gracious offer. The fact that his stomach hadn't stopped rumbling in about seven hours was just another reason to give her his affirmation.

And it was a pleasant enough meal. Harry was extremely quiet but smiled at Remus when he caught his eye. Fred and George animatedly told everyone about a new invention of there's before being admonished by Molly for speaking with their mouths full. After almost inhaling his shepherd's pie, Remus stood to return to St Mary's hospital and Arthur accompanied him into the hallway.

"I'd very much like to come with you to the hospital for a while." Arthur said, his eyes staring into Remus' seriously, "I couldn't bear it if he…" Arthur stopped, unable to find the right words. But Remus understood. He felt the same way. It was a strange way to feel, he supposed. Severus was not a man to be friends with. But they were all soldiers fighting the same war. Disagreements sort of went out of the window in situations like this.

"I must admit," Arthur continued, "I would absolutely love to see what it's like in a Muggle hospital."

Remus smiled, "Alright. You can come."

* * *

A/N: In other news: I turned 19 last week (17th feb). How exciting! Rejoice with me, dear readers!


	9. Chapter 8 : You Left Severus

My infinite apologies for the delay in uploading. My university has been really laying on the work thickly. Plus I think I need to organise my time a little better. Yes, that would be useful. Anyway here you are I hope you enjoy. Feel free to let me know what you think of it. I'm all up for constructive criticism and praise makes my head bigger so either way I'll enjoy a review.

Thank you to all reviewers and favouriters and followers of this fic. You're collectively the reason that the earth goes round.

Disclaimer: And Moses said to the Israelites, "Thou shalt not kill," and the Israelites were all like "Yeah okay then. That makes sense, I guess." Moses continued, "Thou shalt not steal," and once again the Israelites didn't think it was that shitty of an idea. Moses did a double take on the tablet in his hands and hesitated slightly before saying, "Thou shalt not believe that MT Linshaw owns Harry Potter when everyone knows JK Rowling does." The Israelites looked to one another in confusion. "Well yeah, duh!" They said.

* * *

**Chapter 8: You Left Severus' Robe here.**

_"Alright," Remus said, smiling slightly, "you can come."_

Remus waited patiently by the front door of number 12 Grimmauld Place as Arthur went to inform Molly that he leaving for a couple of hours and that he would return later. There was a spider, Remus noticed, hanging down from the ceiling. A money spider. It hung rather nonchalantly from its web in mid-air and seemed only to move the bear minimum amount necessary. It was an easy life for a spider, Remus decided. For that was all they had to do – hang from their own web. Remus felt slightly jealous for a moment, before deciding that he had finally lost his mind.

Just then Harry came and joined him in the hallway. Remus smiled at him and as the boy smiled back. Remus noticed with remonstration the bags under his eyes, the cracks on his lips and the added paleness of his skin. The stress that the boy was under was very much beginning to show and that worried him greatly. The boy was not even yet 14 for Merlin's sake, he did not deserve to live in such a dangerous world.

"I heard you had a run in with some dementors." Remus said. Harry nodded,

"They attacked me and my cousin. If I hadn't have produced the patronus charm they would have sucked out our souls."

"You did well to produce that charm. I never for one moment doubted my decision to teach it to you. You did the right thing." Remus smiled at the son of his best friends, "I'm proud of you."

Harry smiled back and walked closer to Remus, "It's been great seeing you again. We were- _I_ was so worried that…"

"It's ok, Harry" Remus replied, shaking Harry's hand.

The two made to say their goodbyes only to be interrupted by the abrupt sounding of Arthur's re-entrance into the hallway, holding a black bundle in his hands.

"You left Severus' robe here," Arthur said with his back to the pair as he closed the kitchen door to ensure that nobody from inside it could hear them. Remus closed his eyes and strongly wished that Arthur had turned to look around to him before talking.

"I would have told you earlier," Arthur continued, unaware of the additional presence of Harry, "but with all the hustle and bustle, it would seem that I-" Remus reopened his eyes to see Arthur's own widen at the sight of Harry, "-forgot."

"It was Snape." Harry said in a tone of half question and half statement. He looked confused. Almost as if he didn't quite believe what he'd heard. Remus nodded hesitantly and held in his breath. Fucking Hell, Harry didn't need to know this. It was a bloody understatement to say that Harry had enough to deal with at the moment, but it was true. Now there was just one more thing to add to the list. And Harry would want to know _everything_, naturally. And he'd blame himself.

Sirius was going to kill him when he found out that Harry knew. Of course, Remus understood that he hadn't been the one to actually _tell_ Harry about Severus but it would fall onto him, of course it would. And _Severus_. Severus would kill him too. There's no way on earth he'd want Harry Potter of all people to know about his "weaknesses". His strength had been dwindled greatly and yet it was a certainty that he would do his very best to find a way to make Remus pay, oh that he would. Remus pinched the bridge of his nose at the thought of it all.

"I'm so sorry." Arthur said quietly. "I thought you were still in the kitchen with the others."

Harry did not answer Arthur's question. Instead he slowly turned back to Remus, "Snape- Professor Snape: Is he still alive?"

Remus nodded in affirmation once more before realising belatedly that he should talk properly to the boy and use words. He slowly started to retell the story of Severus' attack, being careful not to inform him that it had taken place outside of his aunt and uncle's house. Harry would absolutely flip if he discovered that. Harry was completely blameless in Severus' attack, Remus knew and so did Severus and so did everyone else who was aware of the situation. And yet without a doubt Harry would find a new place to store this one more pile of guilt. He'd find a new hippogriff to hang from his shoulders.

He told Harry of the probability that it had been an attack by Death Eaters due to its nature and brutality and the fact that Severus was well trusted by all members of the Order of the Phoenix through Dumbledore's trusting of him. He told him about their discovery that the knife had been lined with a dark potion which affected his heart, omitting the more gruesome details, of course. And he informed him of Severus' current "recuperation" in a Muggle hospital.

"Wait," Harry interrupted, "why is he in a Muggle Hospital and not a magical one?"

"The closest one is St. Mungo's," Answered Arthur, "the risk of Severus being captured or harmed further by whoever has attacked him would be multiplied by his being treated there."

Harry looked to the side, deep in thought and Remus found himself inanely looking forward to getting back to the hospital and being able to get a few hours' of sleep. The wear always seemed to catch up with him suddenly and never gradually.

"How did it happen, like what was he doing?" Harry asked.

"That's Order business, I'm afraid, Harry." Remus replied, perhaps too quickly. He hadn't wanted to allow himself time to panic and say something stupid. But Harry didn't seem to buy it. His gaze was suspicious and scrutinising. Remus used all of his will to return the gaze unblinkingly. Suddenly though Harry turned to Arthur.

"Was it because of me, Mr Weasley?" Harry asked him. Arthur stalled for a moment, wide eyed. He looked to Remus and back to Harry and swallowed.

"Death Eaters are cruel, Harry. I'm sure they don't need much of a reason to attempt to kill people." Arthur replied.

"And I doubt Severus will want us discussing his private life in full behind his back." Remus added, moving towards the door and beckoning for Arthur to do likewise. "Please don't worry about it, Harry. Severus will make a full recovery before you're back at Hogwarts," Remus continued, ignoring his conscience as it berated him for lying. At the moment the chance of Severus' full recovery were not even likely to be 50%.

"You're hiding something from me." Harry said, his voice rising and his cheeks flushing in anger.

"No I'm not," Remus replied.

"Yes you are. You're being evasive. I'm not a kid. It's my war as much as anyone else's and I don't understand why you're all going to so much trouble to hide things from me."

"No one is hiding anything from you." Remus replied, slightly concerned about Harry's ride in anger.

Suddenly the kitchen door opened slightly and two ginger heads in the form of the two youngest Weasleys came into sight. Remus sighed. This was beginning to get out of control. Remus hated things being out of his control and yet it seemed that _everything_ was currently out of his control.

"You alright, Harry?" Ron asked his friend, taking in the emotional hallway display. Harry turned but before he could give an answer, Arthur replied in his stead.

"Harry's fine we're just having a chat. Go and help your mother, both of you."

The siblings voiced their protestations loudly and Arthur raised his voice in an uncharacteristic show of anger and frustration, "GO AND HELP YOUR MOTHER!"

At that the children hurriedly re-entered the kitchen, closing the door behind them and the three were left once again alone to their conversation.

"Why won't you tell me where it happened?" Harry asked Remus once the door was shut.

"I told you, some things that happen within the Order of the Phoenix are not to be discussed with others." Remus replied.

"And yet you told me everything else about Snape's attack. Don't you trust me?"

"Of course we trust you, Harry," said Arthur, "it's just nothing for you to worry yourself over."

"If it's nothing for me to worry about then you should just be able to tell me."

Remus pinched the bridge of his nose. He was really tired now. It took all of his will power not to take his frustrations out on Harry. The boy was very good, Remus had to admit, at turning people's words against them. That was a useful skill. Annoying when one was standing on the receiving end of it naturally, but useful to possess nonetheless. This was a fight he was not going to win, Remus knew it.

"He was attacked near to the house of your aunt and uncle in Surrey. Since You-Know-Who came back the Order has been ensuring that you are watched by someone constantly. That night happened to be my and Severus' night." Harry's eyes widened in shock and Remus continued, trying to keep everyone as calm as he possibly could, "It was _not_ your fault, I assure you. It was an attack purely against Severus and he wouldn't care for you to spend your time worrying over _it_ or him."

Harry lips moved almost unnoticeably as he contemplated what Remus had just told him. It was a very difficult situation for everyone involved, Remus knew. And he was not at all certain that he had done the right thing in telling Harry, but there was nothing else that could have been done, the boy was not stupid.

"I'd like to see him," Harry said decisively, breaking Remus' trail of thought. Remus swallowed uncertainly,

"You'd like to see him?" he repeated

"Yes, he was almost killed outside of my house, so I'd very much like to see him."

Arthur stepped forward and put his hand on Harry shoulder, "I doubt that would be the most sensible course of action, Harry" he said.

"And why not?" Harry replied, his voice once again rising in anger as he shook away Arthur's hand, "I wouldn't stay for long, I just want to – I don't know. Say _thank you_, maybe."

Remus grimaced as he contemplated for a second Harry's demand. He couldn't in his right mind allow it to happen. Severus was in no fit state whatsoever to be getting angry. So far it had not taken much at all for his heart to decide that it didn't want to work anymore. And while Remus was not certain that Harry visiting him would be I any way detrimental to his wellbeing it certainly would not be very helpful. Furthermore, Remus was not sure how Harry would take seeing his professor in such a vulnerable position. No, it would not be beneficial to any involved parties, that much was true.

"I can't allow it, Harry I'm sorry. Severus isn't well enough for so much commotion."

Harry reddened at that and Remus hoped he'd understand. He didn't want to hurt his feelings, he loved Harry as much as Sirius did. He was _too young._

"Please, Remus," Harry persisted, quieter now, "I thought he hated me. I said some really bad things about him. I didn't know." He said and Remus thought he could see tears forming in his eyes.

"Surely it wouldn't hurt for a few minutes," Arthur said, "It might be good for them both. We're all fighting the same war."

Remus was conflicted. Life never seemed to be a simple case of yes or no anymore. Decisions were harder to form than a patronus charm.

"Five minutes." Remus said finally after a few moments of contemplation. "You'll have five minutes and then Sirius will bring you back home, is that clear?" And Harry nodded solemnly and gave him his thanks.

A few moments later the three of them were standing in the nearby alleyway of the hospital with Harry and Arthur looking around them, taking in their new surroundings, and Remus feeling a little worse than worse for wear. He shouldn't have apparated all of them at once. It had done nothing to steady his already slightly diminished health, it was a small wonder that he'd got none of them splinched. Good God he could hardly conceal his excitement at the prospect of getting some sleep in the near future; it was almost all that he could think about as he tentatively led the two towards the hospital.

"It would be best now to let you know that Severus does not look his normal billowing self at the moment for obvious reasons." Remus said as he led them through the hospital, although who of the two he was addressing, he was not entirely sure. But it was best that they were prepared for his weakened appearance.

Neither of them said anything in response to him as they walked through the entrance of the hospital and along its many corridors. Remus found himself surprised at how well acquainted with this Muggle hospital he had become in the past few days. By now it was practically his home. How long had they been here, he wondered. Three days? Four? It was most likely something around that area, he supposed. He could not remember, exactly. One day seemed to just blur into another.

Before long they were standing right outside of Severus' room, at the doors and Remus told Arthur and Harry to wait outside while he went in and told Severus and Sirius of their presence ahead of them, as to attempt to lessen the element of surprise it would surely otherwise bring.

Remus took a deep breath as he slowly opened the door and entered the room. Sirius had his eyes closed and his shoulders were shaking in silent laughter. Remus was slightly taken aback to see that Severus, whose torso was now uncovered for reasons unbeknownst to Remus, was doing much the same.

"Why is it," Remus asked with a slight smile, "that every time I enter the room, you two seem to be in the midst of some sort of joke?"

The two men only now seemed to notice that Remus had entered the room and they ended their laughter with some chokes. Sirius shrugged, "We both had some wonderful stories about Minerva McGonigall," he said simply.

Remus smiled. At least they hadn't killed each other during his absence. That would have been unfortunate. Especially with Harry and Arthur waiting outside. He walked over to the hospital bed and sat unceremoniously in the plastic chair next to it.

"You have a couple of visitors, Severus," Remus said slowly.

Severus turned to him and narrowed his eyes slightly. "I know," he said with a low, hoarse voice, "you're both right here." It took Remus a couple of seconds of weary confusion before he understood Severus' meaning.

"Oh no," Remus said, "two _more _visitors."

Severus' eyes remained in the slightly narrowed state, giving him the appearance that he might have needed some glasses.

"Who?"

"Arthur Weasley," Remus started, nervously looking back from Severus to Sirius, who looked deeply interested in Severus' sudden new found popularity, "And Harry."

Severus' facial expression did not alter as he asked, "Potter?"

_Nope, Houdini _Remus answered in his mind, before nodding silently. It would not do to tickle a dragon with deadpan sarcasm even if it was bedridden. Severus' facial expression still did not change. Remus began to worry that his mother _had _been right when he was a child and that the wind had changed when Severus had first made his narrowed eyed facial expression, and that now he was stuck with it for the rest of his life. He would be forced to spend the rest of his days a squinting mess. Sirius _did_ however grant Remus with a response.

"Why is Harry here? You told him?" he asked, somewhat calmly.

"He overheard Arthur mentioning Severus. I didn't particularly _want_ to inform him" Remus replied.

"Why has… he come?" Severus asked, pausing briefly to move himself up on the bed painfully.

"He just wanted to see you." Answered Remus. He didn't believe he should tell him that Harry wanted to thank him. That would be best done by Harry himself. Severus' nostrils flared slightly, the plastic breathing tube shuddering.

"To see what I've been reduced to?" He asked, clearly struggling to keep his temper down.

"To make sure you're okay!" Remus replied, hoping to calm the man soon. It would not do to have his temper flying here there and everywhere.

Severus said nothing in response. He was obviously not happy about the situation. Remus wasn't either in all honesty, but here they were. Sirius went out through the doors to go and get Harry and Arthur, and Remus leaned in closer to Severus.

"Harry was upset to hear that you'd been attacked, Severus." Remus said, looking into his eyes, "Do not think that he wants to gloat."

Severus returned Remus' gaze and nodded the smallest of nods. He understood _that_ at least. Remus placed his hand on Severus' arm to find it so burning hot that he almost wanted to pull his hand away again. So _that_ was he wasn't wearing his hospital robe.

"How long have you been feeling so hot?"

Severus leaned his head back against the pillows and stared at the ceiling.

"I don't know," he said, "it's hard to keep… track of time. A few hours perhaps."

At that moment Sirius re-entered the room with Harry and Arthur in tow. Arthur smiled kindly in Severus' direction and was returned with a stoic and almost imperceptible nod. Harry, Remus had never seen look more nervous. He didn't seem to know where to look.

Sirius went and sat back down in his plastic chair and Arthur followed him to Severus' bedside. He folded the robe that had been left at Grimmauld Place over the end of the bed, not that anyone particularly noticed, before bending over and placing his hand on Severus' shoulder, ignoring the heat that it most probably gave off. Once again, he smiled jovially.

"How are you, Severus?" Arthur asked.

"I've been better." Severus responded.

"That I can well imagine." Arthur said with a small laugh. As the two descended into a very one-sided conversation about the inner workings of Muggle Medicine and the fascinating articles that Arthur had read about it, Remus turned his gaze to Harry who was doing his very best to prevent his eyes from wandering toward the Dark Mark which appeared so boldly and brightly on Severus' left forearm. Or at least he did his very best to not allow anyone to notice that he was staring at it.

Severus at some point _did_ seem to notice, though and to Harry's horror, when his eyes left the darkened blemish they instead found Severus' very own. For a heart wrenching couple of seconds Harry's and Severus' eye-contact did not abate and Remus found himself worrying that Hell might break loose. Luckily before long Severus broke the eye contact to once again painfully move himself up onto his pillows.

"Potter," he said with a weaker voice than he'd most likely intended, "Lupin says… you wanted to see me."

Harry hesitated, blushing slightly,

Yes, Professor," he said after a moment, "And I- I wanted to thank you."

* * *

There you go. Once again very sorry for the delay.


	10. Chapter 9: Stop Panicking, Severus

Hello once again, my dears. I have a new chapter for you obviously. It's short and for that I apologise. I wanted to give you _something_ to read as it's been so long since my last update. But I'll give you another chapter by Sunday to compensate, how does that sound? Also **screams hysterically** for the titular character, Harry was bloody (imagine I'm saying a much stronger intensifier there. One beginning with 'F') difficult to write. I _think_ I got his characterisation sorted out, eventually. What are your thoughts?

Anyway TL:DR? Sunday chapter by Sunday - Harry's characterisation: Ja oder nein?

**Disclaimer**: It's the dead of the night. I'm running down a long sandy beach. The waves brushing against the sand gives off a calming sound which so extremely juxtaposes the danger of my situation. People are chasing me - an angry mob of 30 villagers or more. They have flamed torches and sticks. "Do you own Harry Potter?" They shout after me. "No!" I scream, "I'm M.T Linshaw! I literally own nothing!" The mob slows down. "Oh!" They exclaim as they come to a stop, "Sorry, love." They walk away and I am left on my own, slightly confused at what has just occurred.

* * *

_"Yes, Professor," he said after a moment, "And I- I wanted to thank you."_

For a moment, a very small moment, Severus looked confused. But as quickly as the emotion had infiltrated its way onto his face, it was gone again. Harry took a very small step forward, fixing his eyes on his professor.

"They very nearly killed you, sir. While you were watching over my relatives' house. I needed to thank you."

Seemingly gaining strength and confidence, Harry stepped forward once more, albeit slightly tentatively.

"I don't care if you start shouting, I know we're not exactly each other's favourite person. But I just needed to let you know." He continued.

Remus watched as Severus seemed to consider what he'd heard. His face did not give much away but then it rarely did in Remus' experience with the man. Harry's bravery seemed to be ebbing away by the second, by the look on his face, and his eyes seemed to wander around, unsure of where to place themselves. You see, for someone of Severus' normal demeanour – erect posture, intimidating stance, stern expression, to be lying in a hospital bed, with who knew how many wires and needles protruding from their body would most probably be entirely bizarre to witness.

"I didn't do it for you, Potter" Severus said.

Harry stalled and looked nervously from Remus to Arthur to Sirius and back again to Severus. His cheeks turned bright red and he placed his fidgeting hands behind his back.

"I know. It was for _the cause_. But thank you anyway."

Severus paused once again in consideration and Remus wanted to groan at how very tense and awkward this whole conversation was becoming. Finally Severus nodded tersely, which Harry returned with a hesitant nod of his own, before turning and walking towards the doors of Severus room.

Sirius, Remus noticed, was giving Severus a look. Severus narrowed his eyes at him in confusion for a second, for it was very clear to Remus that conversing with the son of your childhood nemesis was not a situation which Severus had had very much experience with in the past. Nonetheless he gathered Sirius' meaning after a while, cleared his throat and called for Harry to come back just before the lad reached his door, grimacing slightly at the pain the exertion had caused him.

Severus watched as Harry reluctantly walked back to the foot of the bed. He looked back at Sirius with an expression that seemed to ask him for help, but Sirius only returned it with a raising of the eyebrows. Severus slowly turned back to Harry and once again cleared his throat.

"I'm gratified that you came… to thank me," he said, pausing only briefly to catch his breath, "that was courteous."

Harry smiled and nodded once more and Remus was at least slightly relieved that no fist fighting had occurred. For the next few minutes Arthur told them about developments at the ministry. Apparently Cornelius Fudge was still refusing to accept Voldemort's resurrection. Not that it technically _was _a resurrection as he had never truly died, but it was still so idiotic of Fudge to blatantly disregard the proof that had been so clear held in front of his nose. The man was a coward.

Soon Arthur and Harry were preparing to return to Grimmauld Place.

"I hope to see you better soon, Severus." Arthur said as he put on his coat. Severus' lip twitched slightly.

"As do I" Severus replied quietly. He was tiring greatly, Remus could see it in his eyes.

Sirius saw the pair back out of the hospital and Remus turned and watched them leave. When he turned back around to Severus, he saw that the man was asleep, his chest moving rhythmically up and down. Remus found his plastic chair and sat in it gracelessly. He too was weary. He crossed his arms on the side of bed and leant his head down on top, and before Sirius had even returned, he too had left the conscious world.

Soon enough Remus' slumber was rudely interrupted by the feeling of something hitting his shoulder. He woke with a start and sat upright in his blue plastic chair. The beeping machine was sounding like an alarm and Severus was flailing in his bed, rolling from one side onto the other. His eyes were still closed and yet he was mumbling something incoherently under his breath. Remus got to his feet at once, his own heart beating erratically with fear.

"Padfoot! Wake up!" He said, leaning over the bed and shaking his friend's slumped form vigorously, "Sirius, for God's sake" he said, his voice strained from stress. Severus was writhing all over the place and had managed to tear some of the wires out of his arms in the process.

Sirius awoke slowly, "fuck," he said as he rubbed the back of his neck and grimaced in discomfort. His eyes widened when he noticed the display playing out in front of him, "Fuck!" he repeated. He ran off, Remus assumed, to find a nurse or a doctor or any kind of healer – Muggle or Wizard, any would suffice so very dearly right now. Remus leaned over the flailing, bedridden man, whose bed sheets had gotten tangled up with his legs. He grabbed Severus by the arms, effectively pinning him down on the bed. _What was wrong with him now?_ His skin was still hot to the touch, even hotter than earlier, and sweat was pouring out of him so much that it pinned his hair to his face like glue.

At Remus' touch, Severus seemed to stop moving so enthusiastically and soon he was still. He was awake now, and staring wide eyed at Remus, although Remus could not recall when the man had awoken. In silence the two stared, with both sets of eyes locked on the other for a few moments, before Remus broke the silence by querying quietly if Severus was alright. It was rather a silly question, Remus knew, and one which two weeks ago would have awarded him with a snarl and something about minding his own damn business. But now the man nodded hesitantly while continuing to stare at him with those mad eyes, full of fear and pleading.

"I'm on fire." Said Severus, his voice a low whisper.

"Your temperature is high, Severus. Don't worry, we're right here." Replied Remus.

"He's burning me. He's _killing_ me." Severus whispered. His eyes glistened for a moment and he continued to hold Remus' stare, begging him, pleading with him. For not the first time a jumble of images seemed to drive unimaginably quickly though Remus' mind. And still Remus could not decipher any of it. It was nothing but a blur of colour and emotion, and yet the ferocity of it made it almost necessary for Remus to use all of his strength not to step back in fear.

Suddenly Sirius was back in the room with Dr Roberts in tow. Concern showed upon both of their faces. Dr Roberts walked briskly up to Severus' other side, rolling up his shirt sleeves as he went, and Remus stepped back to allow the man some room to do whatever he needed to do.

As soon as hands left Severus however, the man started to once again feverishly panic, restarting his writhing and flailing. Dr Roberts called hastily for some help as he desperately tried to calm Severus down. But it was futile. Severus was struggling to free himself from his bed, his eyes searching wildly for Remus as he did so.

"I'm going to fucking die, Lupin" he said half seated, half stood. Remus swallowed hard and looked to Padfoot, his old friend as he had so often wanted during the 12 years of his incarceration. But that was futile too. For whatever he expected to receive from Sirius – an expression of unity; a supportive hand on the shoulder; a short smile that might tell him that everything would be okay – was not there. Sirius had his back to him and was looking out of the window, his knuckles resting firmly on its sill.

Leah and the nurse who had not given them his name entered into the room to aid Dr Roberts with treating Severus and Remus was at least gladdened slightly that he was in relatively safe and capable hands because that was of the highest importance. He looked on as they gently tried to coax Severus back into a lying position on the bed and Leah pressed buttons on the beeping machine which Remus had forgotten was beeping until it had stopped completely.

But Severus continued to struggle against their hold as if his life depended on it. As weak as he was, he still managed to keep anyone who tried to get near to him at arm's length. He shouted and pleaded and begged them, although what of Remus was unsure for he wasn't entirely making sense.

After a few minutes of the futile attempts to calm him down, Dr Roberts suggested that Remus and Sirius go and get a coffee while they continued to try and treat "their brother". Remus turned to the door with one last glance at Severus before walking hesitantly to the door. He could hear Severus calling after him, asking him not to leave him, and almost stalling when he heard the name _"Remus"_ being said. But he continued to the door regardless, assuming that Sirius was close behind him.

Luckily Sirius _was_ close behind him, and when the two of them had passed through the doors they both breathed audible sounds of relief. They stayed standing there in silence for a moment or two, relatively unsure of what they should do next. The beeping machine in the other room had begun to erratically sound again and Remus wondered what that meant. Merlin was not favouring them in this, it would have seemed. Severus seemed to have calmed down, judging solely from the amount of noise he was currently making – which had settled down to mere occasional grunts after Dr Roberts had said to him kindly yet firmly,

"I'm going to need you to stop panicking, Severus,"

Suddenly Remus noticed that Sirius was no longer by his side. He turned half a circle on his heel and saw his friend walking briskly away from him down a long corridor. He made after him at a jog, calling his name as he went until he caught up with him near the front entrance of the hospital. Remus was confused, was Padfoot leaving? Surely not. They had a duty to see through.

"Are you leaving?" He asked his friend.

Sirius said nothing and instead reached into the pocket of his trousers and pulled out a blue packet. He took out a white stick and asked a nearby woman if he could use her 'lighter'. He clicked it with some effort, swearing under his breath when it would not immediately light. Finally the 'lighter' did its job adequately, or so Remus believed, he wouldn't really have known either way to be honest.

Sirius returned the 'lighter', sucked on the stick and exhaled smoke, before looking back at Remus.

"I haven't had one of these in years," he said quietly, holding up the stick to view it under the glare of a nearby lamppost.

"What is it?" Remus asked.

"A cigarette. It fell out of Severus' robe when I went to move it from the bed."

"Oh" Remus said simply. He was exhausted emotionally and physically. He would contact Dumbledore again as soon as it was socially acceptable. Maybe he'd had some success. It was perhaps wishful thinking but at the moment, that was all they had.

* * *

I hope that was okay. As I said you will have a lovely new chapter by Sunday. Bye Guys!


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